Once in a Blue Moon
by BelleSkellington403
Summary: After reuniting the two Smurf Villages and vanquishing Gargamel, Smurfette is ready to relax, but feels something nagging at her. Still under the pressure to marry, and faced with even more questions than answers, she visits some familiar faces. Why had Smurf Village and Smurfy Grove been separated? Who will Smurfette marry? And what will the Blue Moon tell us about her future?
1. Chapter 1

Smurfette gazed out at the village. It was a beautiful summer morning. Greedy was baking delicious smurfberry pies and cakes. Smurfmelody and Harmony Smurf were not yet awake, Harmony blowing weakly into his trumpet every few breaths. Handy's alarm clock could be heard from where she sat by her bedroom window. Every Smurf and Smurfette were just now opening their tired eyes. Smurfette had been awake for hours.

She had reunited her fellow Smurfs and Smurfettes, cast Gargamel far away, and found her place in the village. So why did she feel so...stuck?

She slid out of her chair to journey downstairs. She opened her door with a broom in her hand, sweeping away the daily pile of love letters on her front step. She didn't mind the attention. She'd gotten used to it over the years. But, she thought, as her new "sisters" began coming in to expand to their village, she thought her fellow Smurfs would maybe see other people. She wished she could talk to someone about this, but Papa, Hefty, and Brainy were still in Smurfy Grove helping Smurfwillow with expansion of their own. Who knows when they would be back?

"Hi Cake-eating Smurf! Hi Smurfette!" Smurfblossom hugged Smurfette from behind. "How'd ya sleep? I slept great! It's so peaceful here! That's a nice word. Pe-e-e-e-eacefu-u-u-ul. Rolls right off the tongue!"

Smurfette giggled. "I smurfed great, Smurfblossom."

"Or did you?" Smurfette jumped when Smurfstorm jumped from behind a lilac bush.

"Stormy!" Smurfblossom squealed. "You stayed! I thought you went with Willow to help with extraction."

" _Expansion,_ Blossom." She corrected. "And I have to make sure you don't get eaten by a frog." She caught Smurfette's gaze before she could be corrected. "Kid, you look like you haven't slept in months. What's your deal?"

Smurfblossom yelped, and a crash sent them both to their feet. Smurfblossom's feet could be seen kicking out of the pile of paper Smurfette had swept aside. They grabbed a leg each and yanked her from the heap.

"It seems you have a pile of paper on your porch. How peculiar!"

Smurfette sighed. "Oh, yeah. Just my next pile of love letters from my fellow Smurfs." She stooped down to pick them up.

"You're really popular around here, huh?" Stormy asked.

Smurfette chuckled. "Yeah..."

"What's the matter? Smurfette?"

Smurfette sighed. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Stormy and Blossom glanced at each other. "What kind of a question is that?" Smurfstorm asked.

"Well, am I?"

"Of course you are, Smurfette!" Smurfblossom said. "You're just so blueberry blue and just got the prettiest dresses. You're hair is so long and yellow like a daffodil! And you smell like fresh wild strawberries and flowers!"

"Blossom?"

"Your eyes spark like sapphires."

"Blossom?!"

"And you just have the sweetest voice any Smurfette would dream of having!"

"Smurfblossom!"

Smurfstorm covered her sister's mouth, pointing to a very exasperated Smurfette. "Wrong answer?"

Smurfette groaned. "That's just the whole smurfing problem! I'm not the only girl anymore, but every Smurf in the village is up all night smurfing me love letters."

"So what?" Stormy shrugged. "Forget boys! They're weird! What you need to work on is your life."

"Well, that's not to say that I don't want to get married or fall in love. I love all of the Smurfs, but I just don't feel like I'm ready."

The two Smurfettes glanced at each other, unsure how to help their distressed sister. Stormy took Smurfette under her arms and led her back inside.

"Well, what you need is to sit back and get some rest. You look terrible."

Smurfette didn't want to sleep. She wanted to talk to Papa Smurf and ask him what he thought of...Oh, she was too tired to care. Her face hit the pillow and she was out like a light as the sun rose over the trees.

* * *

Papa Smurf entered his lab, the sun ready to set over the forest. Expansion was not smurfy work, but it was happening surprisingly quickly. After a hard day's work, he was ready to retire to his bed. But the door knocked.

"Come in!"

Smurfette closed the door before he turned around.

"Oh, Smurfette! It's good to see you again!"

"Papa Smurf, can we talk?" she asked.

"O-Of course. Sit down, my dear."

Smurfette took a seat on the stool near the window. Papa pulled over a second stool. Smurfette stared at the floor, her feet digging into the dirt.

"What seems to be the trouble?"

She reached under her hat and pulled out a handful of love letters. "Remember the day when I first became a Smurf?"

"Why I remember like it was yesterday," he answered.

"Do you remember what the other Smurfs did when they smurfed eyes on me?"

"Well, I - "

"They _adore me,_ Papa!" she moaned. "They smurf me gifts, and say smurfy things, and invite me to dinners, and..."

"Do you want this behavior to stop?" Papa asked, concerned.

"No, Papa. I love the attention. Everysmurf loves me, and I love them too. And I know that some have smurfed on, like Harmony and Smurfmelody. But, I'm just a bit smurfed when I smurf flowers and letters from every Smurf around the corner. I mean..." She rifled through her letters. "Dreamy, Painter, Miner, Clumsy, even Grouchy smurfed me a letter."

She unfolded the paper to show, written in big letters, "I HATE THAT I LOVE YOU!"

"Well, what do you propose I do about it?" Papa asked.

"I...I want...Just let me...I need time. I need time before I decide if I want to marry or not." She answered simply and seriously. Papa Smurf nodded. "Could you let everyone know that?"

Smurfette's eyes pleadingly shone into Papa's. For years she had cried over her Prince Charming, but after finding her place in the village and with her "sisters" he realized that she needed more time to come to terms with who she was.

"Please, Papa Smurf."

Papa sighed and stood from his chair. "If it will make you happy, then I will smurf everyone the news."

Smurfette beamed and threw her arms around the elderly Smurf. "Oh, thank you, Papa Smurf!" Without another word, she ran from the hut straight back to her own. She threw open the curtains, admiring the night sky with an invigorating new feeling of relief. She absentmindedly stroked the petals of the lilies growing from her window garden as she stared at the stars.

"This is my life," she said. "And I'll decide what to smurf with it."

* * *

"What?"

"No!"

"She can't be serious!"

Papa stood at the front door of his hut, addressing the crowd of Smurfs called the next morning. He hated to see his little Smurfs upset, but he had to respect Smurfette's wishes. He had to tear his eyes away from the sobbing Enamored Smurf.

"Now, now. That's not to smurf that she won't marry. She only asks that we give her time. She's been through so much. It is only fair that we give her what she smurfs."

"That's right!" Brainy chimed in. "You listen to Papa Smurf. Smurfette needs her space. We shouldn't pressure her. Only time will smurf when she's ready. Just you wait. You'll see."

"Thank you, Brainy," Papa interrupted. "Now, to the smurf at hand. Expansion has been smurfing smoothly. And, with Gargamel away for the time being, we can begin to clear a bit of space. Everyone meet Timber Smurf at the Great Oak for further instructions. Oh, Hefty! Brainy, Clumsy!"

Clumsy stumbled out of the crowd, Hefty not far behind but out of range of Clumsy's path.

"Brainy, I want you to smurf through all the books you smurf on the Smurfstone. You still have smurfs and pieces of it, right?"

"Y-Yes Papa Smurf!" Brainy said eagerly, running back to his hut.

"Clumsy, you're with Brainy."

"Sure thing, Papa Smurf!" Clumsy answered, stumbling after Brainy.

Hefty glanced confusedly at Papa. "What do you need Smurfstone for, Papa?"

Papa chuckled. "Nothing. Brainy will be so smurfed up in his reading that he'll forget why everyone was working. And Clumsy will keep anyone busy. Hefty, I need you to smurf after Smurfette."

"Is she okay?" Hefty asked frantically. Papa noted to be careful around Hefty when it came to Smurfette. He was the most emotional when Smurfette had reverted back to a lump of clay. Now, after hearing her demands, he seemed more agitated.

"Now, now. She's alright. I just thought she might appreciate some company."

Hefty's heart started beating faster than he could run. Time with Smurfette was the only thing he wanted now. He quickly nodded, thanked Papa Smurf, and headed in the direction of her house. Everyone had taken extreme measures to make her feel comfortable and happy again. Her tiny flower garden was now a terrace of every kind and color of flower. Smurfberry pies, cakes, and cookies were piled up by the hundreds around her porch. A few balloons were tied to her mailbox.

Hefty stood at the door with his hand mid-knock. He usually wasn't nervous about meeting with her, but he was visibly shaking. He finally reached up and knocked on her door. A few seconds went by before the door finally opened. She was as beautiful as the day she became a Smurf.

"Oh, hi Hefty!"

Hefty blinked out of his trance. "Oh! Smurfette! Hey."

"Does Brainy need help getting Smurfblossom out of his library again?" she asked.

Hefty laughed. "Nah. Brainy is occupied at the moment. I just wanted to check on ya."

"Oh, sure!" She stepped to the side. "Come in." Hefty stepped inside, Smurfette closing the door behind her. "I have some smurfberry tea on the stove if you want some."

"That'd be great, actually." Hefty took a careful seat at her table. He glanced around the room, unsure what to say or do. His gaze set on Smurfette herself, making him some tea. Her hair looked so much longer from the back, falling like a golden waterfall, so clearly set off by her sapphire skin and white dress. She spun around, a white wooden kettle in her hands.

"Um, Hefty? Are you okay?"

Hefty snapped out of his trance, Smurfette pouring him a cup of tea. "Huh? Yeah! Yeah! Um, great!"

Smurfette raised an eyebrow, but shook her head and sat down. Hefty took a quick sip from the cup, exchanging a few awkward glances with the beautiful creature across from him. He crossed his legs, then uncrossed them. She tapped her foot against the silence. Hefty began drumming his fingers against the table, trying to get past this awkward silence. After a pause, he cleared his throat.

"So!" Smurfette broke the silence. "Is everyone still working on expansion?"

Hefty almost sighed in relief, thankful that he didn't have to break the silence himself. "Yeah, everyone's out by the Great Oak. They, uh...hehe...they had to drag Enamored away; he was so upset."

"Is he alright?" Smurfette asked, concerned.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Hefty assured, but Smurfette bit her nails.

"It's about my request, isn't it?" Her face fell into her hands in embarrassment. Hefty jumped from his seat and ran to her side. "I knew it. This was a stupid idea!"

"No, no, no!" Hefty almost shouted. "If anything, _we_ were the ones being stupid! Smurfette." He took her hand. "Smurfette, if I was in your place, then I'd be overwhelmed too. You found an entire new village! You saved everyone from Gargamel! You made everyone change how they see everything! The last thing on my mind would be marriage."

"Really, Hefty? You don't think I'm being too selfish?" Hefty put a finger to her mouth.

"Smurfette, take all the time you need."

Smurfette smiled and fell into his arms for a hug. "Thank you, Hefty."

A heavy blush rose in his cheeks. This...it felt so good. He felt like he needed this. Not just because of everything that happened to her, but because he desperately wanted this. He pulled her closer, his arms around her waist.

"Um, Hefty? You're standing on my foot."

Hefty jumped back in surprise, releasing her foot from his own. "Uh, heh. Sorry."

Smurfette giggled. "Red sure is your color."

"W-What are you talking about?" He reached up to wipe his face of sweat, his face burning as if it had been fried. "Oh, sweet _Smurfberries!"_

Smurfette giggled again, leading him into the foyer. "Well, since you seem to have the day off, would you like to go Smurfboarding later?"

"Y-Yeah! Tha-Tha-That would be great! Just like old times!" He backed towards the door, excited and utterly humiliated all at once. "I'll see you later, S-S-Smurfette."

He stumbled out the door and down the path. She stood waving after him on the doorstep. That was _embarrassing!_ What the smurfs happened in there? He was the Smurf who sprinted ten miles without breaking a sweat and yet he was burning up without moving. It only happened around Smurfette and he knew why, but it was never that bad. If he embarrassed himself so easily in front of her during a simple visit, how would he behave during their date? (Yes, DATE!)


	2. Chapter 2

Hefty's hands were shaking as he made his way into the forest. He'd been smurfboarding with Smurfette before. How was this any different? His feet slipped on the clovers before he reached the twisted trees. His heart was pounding on the wall of his chest. He planted his board into the ground so he could sit down, or at least try to process the situation.

 _I'm smurfboarding. I'm smurfboarding with Smurfette._ He thought, his inner ramblings snowballing in his brain. _I'm smurfboarding with the Smurfette that saved us from Gargamel. I'm smurfboarding with the Smurfette that saved us from Gargamel and reunited the Smurfs and Smurfettes. I'm smurfboarding with the Smurfette that saved us from Gargamel, reunited the Smurfs and Smurfettes, and decided not to marry anyone!_

He slapped himself as he noticed tears pouring down his face. "Hefty, get a hold of yourself!"

It was that last part that broke him. He knew how he felt about Smurfette, kind of. He knew she was amazing. Beautiful, independent, amazingly smart and funny. He'd always been a little flirtatious. But they were good friends, nothing more. It really shouldn't bother him. He should respect Smurfette's wishes and let her take her time with her own life. He should be happy for her. So, why was this bothering him?

"Hefty?"

Hefty snapped his head up to meet Smurfette's eyes. Her hair was pulled back behind her head and she held a pink, purple, and blue smurfboard in her hand.

"Oh, Smurfette!" He jumped to his feet. "Smurfy timing!"

She smiled. "You actually made it."

"You didn't think I would?"

She shrugged. "Well, after your visit in the village, I thought maybe..."

Hefty chuckled. "Are you kidding? And miss having fun with you? You wish."

Smurfette rolled her eyes playfully. "Anyway, are you ready?"

Hefty picked up his smurfboard. "Ready!"

"Race you up the tree!" She jumped onto the nearest tree trunk and began scrambling up the bark.

"Hey, no fair!" He scrambled after her, trying to keep his smurfboard in his grip. He gazed up at her as he tried to keep up. She laughed. It made him feel great to see her so happy. But, it also made him feel slow.

 _Hefty! You're letting her smurf you to it!_ He hastened his climb to the tallest branch. Hefty shut his eyes at the bright sunlight that opened upon reaching the canopy. Smurfette stood like a golden statue against the blue sky. He bit back the urge to run up and hug her and simply nudged her, signalling he was ready. The two hopped onto their boards and took off down the twisting branches.

Hefty sped down the looping branches, Smurfette always within his peripheral vision. He didn't know whether it was because of instinct or protectiveness or because he... he couldn't help but look at her and admire her. He'd heard Handy and Harmony and a few other fellow Smurfs talk about the other Smurfettes and how they felt they were goddesses. They paled in comparison to her. Hefty's head was spinning, as if he'd just run into a tree.

His head suddenly hit hard wood and he felt himself falling through space. Smurfette called out to him. He braced himself for impact when he suddenly bounced off a conveniently placed mushroom and landed face-first into the leaves below. Smurfette slid to a stop on her own board and quickly rushed over to him.

"Hefty! Hefty, are you okay?!"

Hefty slowly rose to his knees, laughing. "Smurfette, I have never been smurfier!"

"How hard did you hit your head?" she asked, concerned.

"No, no! It still hurts like smurf, but, being here with you, I'd give up exercise and heavy-lifting if it meant being with you!"

Smurfette blushed. "Oh, wow. Hefty, I had no idea. I'm flattered." She burst into giggles, which, in turn, made Hefty start laughing.

"This is the best date I've ever had!"

Smurfette blinked. "Wait. This is a date?"

* * *

Smurfette and Herty both stood in silence, both embarrassed over the situation. While Smurfette blushed so hard she almost turned purple, Hefty had gone powder blue. Smurfette didn't know what to say. She felt betrayed, deceived. Hefty knew what she wanted and he... How could he?!

She whirled around, her hair flying into his face as she raced back to the village. She could hear him calling after her, but she took no heed. She kicked off her heeled shoes to run faster and didn't stop until she returned to her toadstool hut. She fumed.

She thought she could trust Hefty. He'd always been open to what she wanted. Did he trick her into a date with him? She shook her head, not wanting to believe it. She pulled the band out of her hair.

 _Maybe he really did want me to be happy_ , she thought, _And maybe I never saw the signs._

She should have seen them. He was constantly flirting with her, complimenting her and making sure she was happy. She was probably an idiot not to see it sooner. He loved her. But she knew what she wanted.

"I'm sorry, Hefty. But I don't think I can handle that now."

* * *

Hefty stood still as a statue, trying to comprehend what he'd just done.

 _IDIOT! IDIOT!_ He thought over and over. Him and his big mouth. It hadn't meant to come out, but he was so happy with her. He'd meant to say "This is the best day if ever had", but there was that small seed in his brain that made him believe that maybe it was a date.

"Doesn't matter anyway, now does it?" he thought aloud "I smurfed up! I smurfed everything up!"

He could only imagine how she was feeling right now; hurt and betrayed. He wouldn't blame her if she stayed locked in her room for the next month.

* * *

Smurfette marched with determination towards the Great Oak. She smuggled a pair of apricot pants Tailor Smurf was working on and a long sleeved, pink flannel shirt that had been "ruined" in a wash. She needed answers. Papa Smurf knew a lot, but Smurfette doubted she would get any information about Smurfettes from him. She needed Smurfwillow, and she wasn't prepared to stop until she had the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

Smurfette marched with determination through the dense forest. She looked straight ahead, her stride quick and heavy. She didn't trip over any rocks or logs. She wasn't prepared to stop. The Great Oak was coming into view, her fellow Smurfs and Smurfettes were among the trees. The Smurfs were either with Tracker Smurf or Timber Smurf cutting down specific trees or along the creek mapping borders. The Smurfettes were up in the branches, tying leaves and twigs together to make tree-huts. Smurfette scanned the forest floor for Smurfwillow.

"Smurfette!"

Smurfette gasped as she was lifted off the ground by a fierce hug. She choked, "Hi, Smurfblossom."

Smurfblossom dropped Smurfette on the ground. "I thought you were hanging out with Hearty."

"His name is Hefty, and well...that's not important! Is Smurfwillow here?"

Smurfblossom nodded. "Yep."

Smurfette waited patiently, but neither of them moved. "Um, can you take me to her?"

Smurfblossom blinked and laughed. "Oh-ho-ho. She's in the Sky Hut, the tallest tree hut. But, you don't wanna go up right now."

"Yes, I do, Blossom."

Smurfblossom shrugged. "Okey dokey." She grabbed Smurfette's hand and pulled her over to a row of dragonflies. She hopped onto a blue dragonfly and pulled upwards, flying into the trees. Smurfette clung to the back of the dragonfly as they continued upward, until they stopped and fluttered to a large branch. Smurfette slipped off the dragonfly's back.

"Good luck!" Smurfblossom squeaked before she took off and disappeared below the canopy.

 _Good luck?_ Smurfette thought. She turned to the leafy hut, Smurfblossom's warning making her hands shake. She drew in a breath. No! She wouldn't be deterred so easily. She needed answers. She marched up the the curtain and lifted the leaves.

"Hello? Smurfwillow?"

The white-haired Smurfette lifted her head from her desk. "Ah, Smurfette! Come in! Have a seat."

Smurfette took a seat on the flower chair at the table. Smurfwillow hastily gathered her work supplies and moved them to another desk, offering Smurfette some warm hazelnut coffee. Smurfette took the cup in her hands. Smurfwillow sat down across from her. Smurfette noticed how on edge she was, her white hair falling out of their bonds, the indigo bags under her eyes. She glanced at a small sapphire necklace around her neck before Smurfwillow quickly shoved it down her collar.

"Smurfwillow," Smurfette began. "I'd like to talk to you..." Her mind boggled, wondering about that sapphire pendant. "...about the Villages."

"Oh!" Smurfwillow said in surprise. "Progress on expansion is running rather smoothly, well, thanks to the help of our new male friends."

"That's what I mean!" Smurfette replied. "Smurf Village and Smurfy Grove. Why were they separated?"

Smurfwillow's eyes grew wide with fear, something Smurfette thought she'd never see in the fierce leader. She cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose that's how the storks wanted it. They bring the smurf babies and...I suppose that they wanted the males and females separate."

"But, why?" Smurfette asked, more confused than ever. "Why not bring them together in hopes of producing naturally? Storks bring other babies, and it doesn't seem like one Smurf baby every blue moon is going to make much of a difference."

"Um..." Smurfwillow fidgeted in her seat. "We shouldn't question the storks. They have their reasons."

"But is it bad that I want to know that reason?!"

"Smurfette!" Smurfwillow rose her voice. "Trust me. You don't want to delve into this sort of situation! It's dangerous!"

Smurfette growled, standing up in frustration. "I'm _tired_ of everyone saying that! Things have been kept from me for too long! I'm the only Smurfette ever created by Gargamel, and I brought us together! Out of anyone, don't I deserve to know the truth!"

" _Smurfette - !"_ Smurfwillow stopped abruptly, and Smurfette noticed a faint blue glow at her chest. "You have to go."

"What?"

"Now! Go!"

Smurfette was whirled around by her shoulders and pushed from the hut. She turned around, but the curtains were sealed shut.

 _What the smurf was that all about?_ Smurfette asked. She shook her head, done with these charades. She ripped a large leaf from the branch, holding both ends. As she jumped from the terrace, even more questions swirled like magic in her brain. What was Smurfwillow hiding? Could Smurfs really reproduce naturally? And what was the deal with her glowing pendant.

 _Well,_ she decided. _If I'm going to find out, then I'll have to do it myself._

* * *

Her fist pounded into Brainy's door, trying to get his attention.

"Brainy, Brainy, Brainy, Brainy! BRAINY, ARE YOU IN THERE?!"

Brainy's head poked out from the crack in the door, studying Smurfette in her new outfit. The door finally flew open and an arm yanked her inside. She blinked against the brightness of the room. Fragments of some sort of crystal were scattered across the table in front of her, as well as Brainy's equipment. Clumsy sat on a chair with his hands and feet tied together

"Smurfette, you are just in time to - "

"Brainy!" she interrupted. "I don't have time! I tried to smurf to Smurfwillow, but she hasn't helped. I need you to help find out why the villages were separated. And, I'm thinking it has to do with the Storks and the Blue Moon."

Brainy glanced at Clumsy before rummaging through some of his books. "Let's see here. Stark, Stick, Stock...AHA! Storks!" He presented the book on a separate table, flipping through it. "I've measured the flight patterns of the Storks that deliver the smurf babies. They seem to smurf from somewhere beyond the forest, but..." He pointed to the far side of the map. "I could never locate the source. It's a smurf-scratcher."

"But what about the Blue Moon?"

"Same as it's always been, Smurfette. Every Blue Moon, the Stork brings a Smurf baby. It's been that way since Grandpa Smurf."

Smurfette sighed, exasperated. "There has to be more! That can't be it! If that were the case, how would the Storks know to separate the girls and the boys? Who were the Smurfs before who were brought by those storks? It makes no sense!" She flipped frantically through the book, trying to find something.

"Smurfette, stop!" Brainy grabbed her hand. "There's no point. Papa Smurf always says "Smurf your battles." It's not worth it."

"I just wish I had answers."

A faint glow caught all of their attention. The crystal fragments emitted a strange blue light. Brainy rushed over, taking a fragment by some tweezers.

"Incredible!"

Smurfette moved to Brainy's side, Clumsy scooting over to see. "What? What is it?"

"The Smurfstone! It seems to be reacting to you. It was only during your uncertain state that it, in a way, answered you."

She snatched the stone from the tweezers, ignoring Brainy's irritated face. "This is the key! This has to tell me what I'm smurfing for!"

"WHOA, WHOA!" Brainy snatched it back. "We have no idea if it's smurfing you to to your certain death!"

"Brainy, I have no idea about anything!" she replied. "You're the most knowledge driven smurf I know! I need answers! Please, can you help me."

Brainy glanced at Clumsy with uncertainty. Clumsy glanced at Smurfette. "I'm with Smurfette, Brainy."

Brainy slid out of his lab coat and slung a satchel over his shoulder. "Alright, I'm in. But, we need a bit more backup than this."

* * *

Brainy knocked precisely three times on Smurflily's door, night having already fallen. Shuffling was heard inside the tree hut until finally Smurflily pulled back the leafy curtain. "Brainy? Clumsy? Smurfette?"

"Smurflily, we need your help," Smurfette started. "I'm trying to figure out why our villages were separated, and it has to do with this." She pulled the smurfstone shard from Brainy's satchel, the crystal glowing in the moonlight. Smurflily gasped in awe.

"W-Wait! Is that...Smurfstone?"

"You know about it?" Clumsy asked.

Smurflily glanced around nervously before ushering the three inside. She puled some scrolls and boxes from nearby shelves and put them on the table. "I haven't seen Smurfstone in 115 years. It's so rare!" She opened the jewelry box and pulled out a violet pendant with a small jewel in the center, similar to Smurfwillow's pendant.

Smurfette gasped. "That pendant! I saw Smurfwillow wearing one just like it!"

"All the great Smurf leaders have worn the Smurfstone as a symbol of peace and wisdom. But since there are so few left, the smurfstones have been disappearing. This particular pendant was said to have belonged to the first leader of the Smurfettes, Nanny Smurf, who resides high on Bad Mountain. But, I always thought it was just a legend told to smurflings."

"Nanny Smurf?" Smurfette asked, taking the pendant. "This could be the answer I've been looking for."

"Um, Smurfette?" Brainy began.

"I-I-I have to find her! I have to find her, and I can ask her my questions! And we can really come back together again!"

"Whoa! Smurfette, slow down!" Smurflily took her shoulder. "No one has ever gone to Bad Mountain and survived. We don't know if Nanny Smurf even exists."

Smurfette whirled around. "if this pendant really did belong to her, then I say we do it. I've already been to smurf and back and I'm not ready to give up now. If you don't want to help me, fine. I'll go by myself. But you can't stop me. Not this time and not any time."

The three others glanced at each other before finally coming to stand by their determined friend.

"Let's do this!" Smurflily said.

"WOO-HOO! ROAD TRIP!" Clumsy cheered, the other three shushing him. "... _road trip."_


	4. Chapter 4

Hefty knocked on Smurfette's door the next morning, his hands shaking.

"Smurfette? It's me. Um...can you answer the door?" The door didn't open. "Okay, I deserve the silent treatment. But, I just want to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. I just wanted to have a good time with you and, yes, I do have some feelings for you. You might even say that I...like you a little. But that's no excuse for how I treated you. I'll smurf whatever you want me to do if it means your forgiveness. So, will you forgive me?"

No sounds came from the house, and Hefty grew worried. He raised his hand to knock again, then pressed his ear against the door. He heard nothing. He tried the doorknob and was shocked to find it unlocked. The door creaked open, and the house was dark and empty.

"Smurfette? I know you're mad at me but - " A glint of light caught him off guard, coming from outside the window. He trekked outside and followed the beam of morning light to Brainy's hut. He reached for the doorknob, but the door leaned and crashed to the floor. After a second to compose himself, he marched in. The place was a mess as usual, but it usually didn't smell like salt and metals. A crunch under his foot sent him back a bit. He lifted his foot, a few crumbs of bluish-white rock sprawled on the floor. He scooped it up in his hand.

"Smurfstone?" It shimmered for a split second, making him drop it. "It's never done that before." He cautiously stooped down to pick it up again and shoved it into his pocket. If Brainy thought this was some sort of sick joke, then it wasn't funny. Wait...Brainy's jokes were terrible. And Brainy couldn't even scare Paranoid Smurf. Something was definitely wrong here.

"Brainy?" There was probably no point in yelling, but it was worth a shot. Hefty noticed the nearby book on the table. He flipped it open. It was filled with maps. "Storks? Why would they be looking at storks?" He flipped through the book some more, coming across a picture of a Blue Moon. Brainy's fingerprints were particularly covering this page.

" _The Blue Moon is a rare Smurf phenomenon which can occur anywhere from every 2 to 100 years. This type of bluish hue can only meet the arrival of a baby Smurf..."_

Everything seemed normal, until the note at the bottom.

 _"After some investigation, I, Brainy Smurf, have concluded that the Blue Moon may smurf more than we know to believe. I shall smurf-duct more investigation with a small team of Smurfs to an undisclosed location in the western mountains until further conclusions have been smurfed."_

Hefty growled and clenched the smurfstone in his fist. "Next time, Brainy, when you smurf out in the middle of the night with Smurfette, don't tell me where you're going!" He snatched the book from its post and sprinted from the hut into the forest.

"PAPA SMURF! PAPA SMURF!"

Hints of blue were beginning to appear, so Hefty quickened his pace. Everyone was gathered under the Great Oak, Papa Smurf and Smurfwillow standing on the large toadstool. He called out again, straining to regain his breath. He stopped in front of the toadstool.

"Papa Smurf, Brainy and Smurfette are gone."

Papa nodded. "We know, Hefty. So are Clumsy and Smurflily. We can only assume that they're all together."

"Yeah, yeah!" Hefty sputtered quickly. "But, I think I might know where they could have gone."

* * *

Smurfette pushed back the tree leaves, gazing at the view. They were nearly out of the forest, the mountain range just in view. The mountain lived up to its name. All around it were rocks and dead trees, a barren wasteland to behold. If Nanny Smurf was real, why would she stay there?

"Smurfette! What do you see?" Brainy called from below. Smurfette jumped from the leaves and slid down the trunk of the tree.

"We're almost to the mountain. We just need to smurf a little ways north and we'll be at the base."

"Let's smurf to it!" Clumsy said. Smurflily blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Your language has the word 'smurf' in it a lot. Doesn't that become tedious and worn out sometimes?"

"Look, Smurflily," Smurfette said. "Male Smurf culture is more contextual than literal. You say what's in your smurf and we understand."

"Oh, okay," Smurflily complied, putting her hand over her heart. "I _smurf_ my friends." The three cringed in disgust. "What? I do. I smurf my friends."

"Stop saying it! Gross!" Brainy winced, pulling a few maps from his satchel. "Let's go guys. If we smurf now, we can smurf there before sundown."

Smurflily stood dumbfounded for a few moments before following the group towards the edge of the forest. Smurfette pushed past the brush and stepped out into the open, her friends following. The towering mountains loomed over the horizon like a black phantom looming over a frightened child. A phantom like Gargamel. She told herself no. Gargamel was gone now. She had to accept that and move on.

"Careful everyone. This area is known for its structural instability," Brainy stated, studying a piece of granite.

"Oh, yeah. That's never good." Clumsy stood over by the edge of the cliff as it began to crack. Smurflily lunged and pushed Clumsy out of the way just as the ledge began to crumble.

Clumsy and Smurflily laid on the ground, him in shock. "Gosh, that could have killed us!"

"I tried to warn you," Brainy said.

Smurflily shrugged and stood up. "You get used to it." She held out her hand for Clumsy to take and pulled him to his feet. "Are you always like this?"

"Well, usually when it's funny."

Smurflily giggled. Brainy led the group down the hill, testing the ground for stability. Smurfette followed close behind, staring at the foreboding mountain above. This mountain held answers, answers she needed. Whether or not Nanny Smurf was up there, or even existed for that matter, was up for debate. It almost didn't matter. It held something she needed one way or another. She pulled the shard from her pocket, the crystal glowing in the dim atmosphere. She'd come too far already. Nothing was stopping her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! I hope everyone had happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanza! Happy Yuletide! Happy Stump Day (if you know the reference, great. If you don't, that's fine.) and Happy Holidays to everyone reading this! And, here's chapter 5.**

* * *

Smurfette glanced nervously at the drop below them. They'd already begun ascending the mountain, which proved to be a difficult task. Rock slides, narrow chasms, and unstable ledges made every step a light and cautious journey. Brainy looked back at Clumsy several times a second to make sure he was dead or trying to kill them, even though Smurflily was keeping a closer eye on him than Brainy.

They inched their way along a narrow path, their backs against the wall and their feet mere centimeters from the edge. Brainy tied a rope around his waist, passing it to Smurfette. Smurflily did the same with her own rope and tied it to Clumsy's waist.

"Careful...Careful..." Brainy repeated. "... _careful!"_

"If you say 'careful' one more time - !" Smurflily snapped. Clumsy suddenly yelped, Smurflily whipping around just in time to pull him back up.

"That's why I said 'careful'!" Brainy scolded. Smurflily groaned.

"So, Smurflily," Smurfette said. "What's Nanny Smurf like?"

"Well, the legend says that Nanny Smurf was once a Smurfette named Smurfnest. She lived alone and grew from a little Smurfette to a fierce warrior, teaching herself the art of self defense and combat. She raised all her little Smurfettes to be just like her and fight for their home. They said that she took out 800 rattlesnakes before the sun went down and wrestled a bear with nothing but her knitted scarf until it collapsed of exhaustion. She was the greatest Smurfette to ever lead us. But one Blue Moon, she vanished with the stork that brought the Smurf baby with it."

Brainy rolled his eyes, edging his way to a safer ledge. "You're really smurfy enough to believe a smurfling's nursery rhyme?"

"Oh, and tell me you didn't believe in some sort of great leader!" Smurflily retorted.

"No! I've met them," Brainy said dryly. "Papa Smurf. The greatest, wisest leader to ever govern the Smurfs. Preceded by Grandpa Smurf, the former Papa Smurf who made a 500-year journey around the world to find the purest of the four primal elements in order to restore power to the Long Life Force Stone, the very force that ensures our longevity."

"Bor-ing!"

"Would you two stop it!" Smurfette snapped. "Does it matter who is better? We're here for one reason and one reason only! To get answers!"

She stepped up to the ledge, a path of large stone spires forming a bridge of sorts to the other side of a deep chasm. Brainy pulled her back. "Um, Smurfette. We should be following the map. The safest route is up this path for about three miles, followed by a vertical climb at 90 degrees, then we continue for two point seven miles south for - "

"Um, Brainy. Smurfette's way does seem quicker," Clumsy interjected.

"What do you know, Clumsy? You can't even make those jumps!" Brainy yelled.

"Sure I can!" he argued.

Smurfette's fury and frustration boiled to her head. This was a waste of time. She backed up as much as she could without Brainy noticing, tightened the rope around her waist, and leaped from the ledge.

"SMURFETTE!"

Smurfette landed on the first stone, a bit shaken but alive.

"C'mon, Brainy! I'm not going back!"

Brainy scowled at her, but she stomped her foot into the rock, standing her ground. Brainy finally sighed, took a running start, and followed after Smurfette. Smurfette pulled at the rope to pull him closer, as it looked like he wasn't going to make it. Brainy landed on his face, Smurfette dragging him to a standing point.

"Come on!" she yelled to Clumsy and Smurflily. Clumsy glanced nervously at Smurflily. Lily took his hand and leaped from the ledge, meeting them on the rock. Smurflilly kept a firm hold on Clumsy's hand as he stumbled. Smurfette and Brainy jumped to the next rock, Smurflily and Clumsy pursuing.

"Smurfette, this is too dangerous to smurf," Brainy whimpered. "Any sudden movements or loud noises could cause the entire bridge to collapse."

Smurfette nodded a response, but didn't answer. She glanced back at Smurflily and Clumsy, who were trying to find a good standing point. Smurflily grabbed Clumsy's hand again and jumped. She landed fine, but Clumsy slipped, hanging from dear life onto the edge. Lily and Brainy bent down to help him up.

"This is why you should let me handle Clumsy!" Brainy said.

"Um, excuse me. I can handle him just fine. Besides, I don't think it's our decis - "

"You lack the basic understanding of male smurfs to know that our names portray our personalities. Ergo, you lack the basic knowledge that Clumsy is clumsy by smurf and thus should be with a smurf who has the intellectual capacity to handle him."

Smurflily flipped her spear from her back and aimed it at Brainy's throat. "Listen here, you insensitive, blue blob with absolutely no athletic ability! What gives you the right to assume that I don't know what I am doing?!"

"Because you do not have any idea! You could never be able to learn the intense knowledge to which I have smurfed my whole life to achieve!"

"I never said we were intellectual equals!"

Smurfette pulled at Brainy's rope to get his attention, but they wouldn't budge.

Brainy continued. "Of course we're not! You have no understanding of anything Clumsy could be capable of, and I am the only one who can truly and smurfly handle him without causing the destruction of the entire Smurf Village!"

"Are you sure you even know him?! Because, it sounds to me like you just think of him as a burden!"

"Can I say something?" Clumsy asked.

"No!" they said in unison. Clumsy sat down dejectedly.

"Why do I bother listening to you?" Brainy asked himself. "Let's go, Smurfette. We'll handle this mission ourselves."

"Well, if the hat fits, Nerdy Smurf!"

Brainy froze, his shoulders tensed. "Smurf. That. Again."

Smurflily crossed her arms. "If the hat... _fits... **NERDY SMURF!"**_

Brainy whirled around, taking Smurflily in a headlock. She threw him over her shoulders, the rock beneath them trembling. Smurflily pinned him to the stone, his right leg in one hand and the back of his head in the other, pulling them towards each other. Smurfette pulled with all her strength to drag Brainy away, but they wouldn't stop.

"Guys! Guys!" she tried to call out to them. "STOP IT, NOW!"

Her last cry echoed through the chasm, the stone around them collapsing into the darkness below. Brainy and Smurflily looked up in fear as they abandoned their fight. Smurfette yanked Brainy's rope and made a wild dash for the ledge. With all her strength, she pushed herself from the crumbling boulder and landed hard on the ledge, the rope tangling around her legs.

Smurflily backed up as the stone began to crumble. She turned to Clumsy.

"Clumsy, come on! Take my hand!"

"Why bother, Smurflily? You were right, everyone smurfs me as a burden. I don't do nothing but mess up all the time."

"That's not true!" she pressed. "You make everyone feel just a little bit better, because you're always there to cheer them up." A crack echoed from beneath them. Smurflily brashly scooped Clumsy in her arms and ran for the ledge. The rock leaned, and Clumsy screamed. They both hit the stone hard as the rock finally collapsed.

Smurflily coughed up the dust she inhaled. Clumsy looked up at Smurflily.

"Clumsy?"

"Smurflily?"

"No, Clumsy." Smurfette stooped down to help her friends to their feet. "That was some quick thinking, Smurflily."

Smurflily glanced back at the destroyed bridge. Had she stood there for one more second, they would have been as good as dead. She glanced at Clumsy, who was gasping for air.

"Y-Yes..." Brainy stammered. "That was quick smurfing."

Smurflily smirked. "That was nothing. I'm sure you could have done better."

They untied their ropes as the continued along the mountain. Brainy didn't blink for twelve minutes. He was too much in shock. One, because he was in shock. Two, because he had inadvertently insulted his best friend. And three, because he had severely underestimated Smurflily's abilities.


	6. Chapter 6

Smurflily pulled at the rope around the stick until it finally drew sparks onto the log pile. Clumsy was already asleep in his sleeping bag. Brainy was sketching in the dirt by the cliff outside the cave. Smurfette stared at Smurflily. She cast away the stick and stuffed the rope into her bag, an exhausted yet contemplative look plastered to her face.

"Smurfette?"

"Iwasn'tstaring! - I mean, yeah?" Smurfette asked.

"I'm not sure you should have brought me along on this mission," she confided. "Your brainy friend is right. I have no idea what I am doing, and not just with Clumsy over there. I nearly got us killed." She gestured to Clumsy, who was snoring loudly.

"But, if you hadn't thought quickly enough, you'd end up at the bottom of that ravine."

"It really wasn't quick thinking. I was just doing everything in the heat of the moment; I wasn't thinking at all."

"But, other than that, you've been so helpful and supportive. Without you, we wouldn't have gotten this far. You're so smart and rational! You're the only one I know who smurfs so much about Smurfettes that I don't! You're the first Smurf I met who was like me."

Smurflily pulled at her pigtails. "Smurfette, you're right about me being rational, and yes, I do know a lot. But this is the first time I've ever been at the mercy of the elements! I've never had to survive on my own or fend for myself! You should have brought Smurfstorm with you. She knows what she's doing."

Smurfette sat Lily down on a twig to catch her breath. "Lily, we do need you. Trust me, if Stormy were here, she'd smurf Brainy's head off before he got a single smurf in."

Smurflily sighed, not entirely convinced. "Smurfette, do you think Clumsy..."

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. You should get some rest." Smurflily laid down in her bag and turned away. Smurfette glanced at Brainy, still sketching by the last light of day. She glanced back at Smurflily, her pigtails bobbing as she breathed. She was needed more than she realized. At least, that's what Smurfette thought. She glanced at Clumsy, still snoring heavily. She didn't know what was going on with him, but she knew it was not her place to step in. And thank smurfs it wasn't! She turned back to Brainy.

"Brainy! I'm smurfing first watch!" she called.

Brainy turned and nodded in response before dragging his sleeping bag to him and settling down. Smurfette shook her head. What was she going to do with them? She only hoped that she was doing the right thing here. This couldn't just be for nothing. She gazed out into the night sky, which was slowly being blanketed by thundering clouds.

* * *

Hefty kept holding his hat to his head, gripping to the stork's neck. Smurfwillow and Smurfstorm rode on Spitfire below him.

"I don't see how that bird is going to be any faster!" Smurfstorm shouted over to Hefty.

"What do you know about flying on a bird?!" he retorted.

"About as much as you! You have no idea how to control that thing!"

Hefty waved his hands at her, trying to shut her up. The stork shot Hefty a glare. Hefty shrugged and laughed nervously. He turned back to Smurfstorm.

"Okay, you're right! I don't know how to fly. Because if I admit that I'm the one smurfing the stork, I'll be tossed into a river!" The stork under him jerked, and he clung to its neck. "Sorry, Feathers."

"Well, isn't that a - "

"Storm!" Smurfwillow finished.

"I was going to say pretty picture, but - "

"No! I mean - "

The sound of thunder made them all look upward, and Hefty's heart dropped. Water poured into his eyes before he could fully see the enormous cloud that loomed over them. He turned to the girls.

"We have to take cover!" Smurfwillow shouted. Spitfire dove down into the forest below, Feathers following behind them. Hefty glanced up. They were so close; he could see the mountain range from there. They could make it! He grabbed the stork's back feathers and pulled upward. Feathers shot back over the trees, squawking in pain. He could hear Smurfwillow and Smurfstorm call after him, but he refused to listen. Feathers jerked against his hold, but Hefty held firm. He wouldn't give up! He wouldn't lose her again!

A blinding flash of light, followed by the loudest clap of thunder he'd ever heard, sent him plummeting. He was out before he hit the branches before Spitfire swooped down to his rescue. As Hefty made impact, Spitfire collapsed under his weight and crashed onto the forest floor. Hefty rolled off the injured dragonfly, his limbs twitching and his skin smoking. The poor stork lay a few yards away in the same state. Feathers squawked out a cry for help before falling unconscious himself, two Smurfs running over to them, dividing into four smaller figures.

* * *

Smurfette gasped, sitting straight up. The storm angrily raged outside the cave, rain pelting down to earth like knives. She glanced over at the others. Smurflily and Clumsy were still sound asleep, but Brainy was still wide awake, sketching in the dirt. Smurfette crept out of her sleeping bag and crawled over to Brainy.

"Brainy?" He glanced over, but didn't respond. She peered over his shoulder to examine his drawing. "It looks like you and Clumsy."

Brainy stared at the sketch for a minute before scratching it away with his stick. He tossed the stick into the storm.

"Brainy?"

"Who does she think she is, Smurfette?!" Brainy whispered loudly, pointing to Smurflily. "Who is she to assume that I don't know all there is to smurf about Clumsy?"

"Brainy, this isn't about Clumsy."

"I know all that there is to know about Clumsy! I have been his guide and teacher for years! I've known him my whole life!"

"Again, Brainy. This has nothing to do with Clumsy."

" _She_ is the one who _doesn't_ know what she's doing! She has no idea how to take care of him!"

"Brainy, I'm smurfing to a brick wall here! Listen to me!" she ordered. She sighed. "Brainy, for the last time, Clumsy is not involved in this. Could it be possible that the reason you and Smurflily don't smurf with each other is because you're jealous?"

Brainy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You, Smurfette, are clearly mistaken. I do not get jealous. And, if I did, why would I be jealous of _her?"_

Smurfette shrugged. "Well, maybe because even though you have a lot in common, you think she's smurfing Clumsy away from you."

Brainy laughed. "Oh, poor, naive Smurfette."

She shot him a dead stare, telling him she was serious. "I mean, smurf about it, Brainy. She's smart and studies insects and plant life. But she also is athletic and sociable. You see that Clumsy likes that and you don't like it."

"Smurfette, Smurfette, Smurfette. Everything you said is wrong. I am highly athletic, I am well liked by everyone in the village, and I do not smurf any feelings of jealousy towards the not-to-be-named Smurfette. Now, goodnight!" He turned over in his sleeping bag, facing the wall. She stared at him.

"You know you have to smurf next watch, right?"

Brainy sighed and sat up. "Right."

Smurfette sighed herself and crawled back over to her corner. She snuggled into her sleeping bag, watching the storm blow over. The thunder was starting to quiet down, the rain falling gently. She hoped everyone back at the village wasn't too worried about them. They were probably worried sick, she still knew. But she hoped they weren't scared for them or, worse yet, following them.

* * *

Hefty moaned, his skin unbearably hot. He suddenly gasped as a cool, wet rag gently pressed against his chest. His head shot up.

"It's alright. You're safe." The voice was familiar, but not Smurfwillow's or Smurfstorm's. It was a younger voice, similar to one of the Smurfs back in the village. He peeked open his eyes to see a straw hat on top of a smurfling in brown overalls.

"Nat?!"

Nat Smurf smiled at his old friend. "Smurfy to see ya again, Hefty. You took quite a smurf here." He positioned Hefty's head up with a pillow before continuing to clean Hefty's singed chest.

"What happened to you?" Hefty asked. "Last time we saw you, you, Snappy, and Slouchy went to Father Time. We haven't seen you since."

"Oh, hehe. Yeah...well, after we got there, one of my butterflies flew into one of Father Time's clocks. Snappy, Slouchy, and I smurfed after it, but when we came out...let's just say the butterfly was a caterpillar."

"Holy Smurfs!"

Nat laughed. "I know. So, we got lost. Started wandering. We eventually smurfed up here in this tree. Hid from Gargamel a few times. And, we snuck a lump of clay from his bag, made our own Smurfette."

A bang came from upstairs, followed by a frightened "oops".

"Don't worry. Slouchy actually smurfed up a little potion making from Papa. She's a real Smurf now!" He set the rag and bowl of water down. "I'll let you get some rest. If you smurf anything, holler." Nat turned.

"Wait!" Nat stopped. "How far is it to Bad Mountain from here?"

Nat knitted his eyebrows. " _That's_ where you were headed? Are you smurfed out of your mind?!"

"I'm going after Smurfette!" Hefty explained.

Nat sighed. "Well, until those burns heal up, you're not smurfing anywhere. And neither is Smurfette. Let's just pray to all that's smurfy she's alright."


	7. Chapter 7

Nat came back to Hefty twice before he passed out. He'd lain there for hours, his bandages loose yet sticking painfully to his burns. But his injuries were far from his mind.

 _Smurfette, how could you do this?_ he thought miserably. _I know you were mad at me, but I thought we were a team._

Nat snapped his fingers into his ears. Hefty turned his head, noticing Nat with a plate of food. "Thought you might need some food. You look smurfed to death."

Hefty snatched some bread from the plate with his good arm and had finished half before he stopped to breathe. "Nat, how long have I been here?"

"About two days. It was actually Slouchy who found you and Feathers. I would have helped the dragonfly, but he flew away."

Hefty nearly sat straight up. He'd completely forgotten! "What about Smurfwillow and Smurfstorm?!"

Nat raised an eyebrow. "Smurf-what and Smurf-who?"

Hefty sat up as much as he could to meet Nat's eyes. "Smurfwillow and Smurfstorm. They came with me to find Smurfette, but I lost them before I got smurfed down. And, this is going to sound crazy, but they're girls."

Nat's eyes widened. "How many more Smurfettes did Gargamel make?!"

"No, no, no," Hefty assured. "They're real Smurfs. They came just like us, except their girls!"

"Did the electrical currents smurf with your brainwaves, because you're smurfing no sense."

Hefty groaned. "Okay, let me explain..."

Nat listened as Hefty relayed him what had recently went down. It was rather long, but he was entranced by every word. After a moment, Snappy found himself eavesdropping and sat down beside Nat. He then waved over Slouchy and the new Smurfette: Sassette. They all sat cross-legged, listening intently. Hefty didn't stop or trip over his story once, except for the ending when he had to witness Smurfette lifeless and cold on the floor.

"And, now all the Smurfettes live with us."

Nat blinked, his jaw on the floor and his eyes open wide. "Wow, Hefty. What a ... terrific smurf of fiction you smurfed up! You expect us to believe that?"

"Well - " Slouchy began.

"Not now, Slouchy!" Nat snapped. "I'm sorry, this is not directed at you." He turned back to Hefty. "Heft, buddy. You really expect us to believe that after 500 years there are real female Smurfs?"

"It was a shock to me when I found out, too! No pun intended."

Nat rolled his eyes. Sassette stood up and took Hefty's hand. "I believe you, Hefty."

"Sassette, don't patronize him," Snappy groaned.

"But I really do believe him!" Sassette protested.

A sudden knock came from below. The smurflings jumped at the noise, stunned as if not knowing what to do. Nat looked around frantically.

"Snappy, barricade the doors! Slouchy, smurf off all the lights! Sassette, smurf the curtains! Try to smurf good hiding spots or weapons!"

Hefty sat up, trying to stop them. It was the girls, he knew. They were just coming to get him back, not attack. Although, they would surely attack if they knew that the smurflings would defend themselves. He grabbed Nat's arm, ignoring the searing pain in breaking his blisters.

"Nat, please listen to me!"

"I'm sorry, Hefty," Nat said simply before taking a small syringe and forcing it into his mouth. He squirmed in protest as a small amount of liquid slipped down his throat. His limbs went numb and his eyelids felt heavy. Loud thumps at the door were the last things he heard before he blacked out.

* * *

Smurfette stumbled into the stone wall of the cliff, a sudden surge of exhaustion coming over her legs.

"Smurfette, what's wrong?" Smurflily asked, looking back in concern.

Smurfette shook her head. "It's just the air pressure. I'm...I'm fine." She stood back up, not knowing what that was. It was as if all the nerves on her body had shut down for a split second before returning. She dug her hand into her pocket, locating the Smurfstone shard. She'd almost forgotten that she brought it along. It glowed faintly as she stared at it. What was it trying to tell her?

"Smurfette!" She glanced up, noticing Smurflily and Clumsy at the top of the next cliff. She hiked over to where they stood, pulling Brainy along with her, and gasped in awe. She'd never seen a view at this height; it was absolutely breathtaking. The gray barren lands outlining the mountains were only a sliver, a moat surrounding the dead mountain and separating it from a sea of green. Fields separated from the forest, small villages and farms from human kingdoms dotting the landscape. Enormous castles looked like tiny, miniature models on maps. Lakes and rivers sparkled like gems.

"It's beautiful..." Smurfette breathed, tearing her eyes away to witness her peers' reactions. Smurflily couldn't tear her eyes away, Clumsy looking on the verge of tears. Brainy gazed at the sight, almost indifferently. He also took a glance at Clumsy and Smurflily, but Smurfette was stunned to see his face drop into a frightened look of terror and sprang to push the two away from each other. She knitted her eyebrows in confusion. Why would Brainy do that?

She stared at Smurflily and Clumsy's reactions of confusion and surprise, and noticed Smurflily blushing profusely. She pulled her hat closer over her head to hide her face. Whether or not Clumsy saw it, Brainy sure did see it. Smurfette sighed and once again told herself to stay out of it. Another piece of drama was the last thing she needed. She gazed at the view one final time before noticing the path ahead.

She tugged at her rope. "Let's go, Brainy. We're smurfing daylight."

"I couldn't agree more, Smurfette," Brainy said, hitching up his satchel. "If we only stop for the night, we can reach the summit by tomorrow."

Smurfette grinned. "Awesome!"

She couldn't help but glance back at Clumsy and Smurflily, both awkwardly keeping up with Brainy and Smurfette. They both made a show of avoid each other's gaze. Smurfette sighed. She knew all too well the feeling. She felt it whenever she was with Hefty, awkward and embarrassed. She knew that they were great friends, but they had other things they needed to focus on. That was why she was here, right?

She couldn't help the surge of adrenaline that coursed through her. She marched ahead of Brainy, smirking at the face he made, and gripped the shard in her hand. She could feel it growing warmer as it glowed. What did the glow mean? She hoped the mountaintop would provide her the answer. She wouldn't stop. She wouldn't stop.

* * *

 _I won't stop...I won't stop..._

Hefty gasped, waking up to complete darkness. Everything had gone quiet, which was not a good sign. He sat up as much as he could to look for some light. The creak of a floorboard made his heart stop. Was that one of the Smurflings? No, it was too heavy. He slid off the cot, cringing at the pain on his chest and arm. He fell to his knees.

"Hefty?" A familiar loud whisper crawled closer to him, and light filled his eyes. He blinked against it until he could make out Smurfstorm's serious face. "Okay, good. Willow!"

A second shadow in the room rushed over, revealing the white-haired leader. She gasped. "Oh, Hefty. That looks terrible."

Carefully, she unwrapped the bandages, examining the burnt skin and scar tissue. Hefty gagged at the sight. She dug into Smurfstorm's pack and took out some more bandages. Hefty watched on in confusion as Smurfwillow wrapped him in these new bandages. They felt slimy and sticky, but strangely soothing. After only a few seconds, Smurfwillow unwrapped the bandages, leaving only minor scarring.

"How'd you - "

"Seaweed bandages soaked in honey and smurfberries," Smurfstorm explained. "Works wonders on the skin. Also makes a great snack." She torn off a piece and started chewing.

"Was that the wrap you used on my burns?" Hefty asked cautiously. Smurfstorm glanced at it, shrugged, and took another bite. Hefty shuddered. "Okay, that is disgusting." He pushed himself to his feet, groping around for a source of light. He settled on a lamp in the corner, a deadpan expression on his face as he faced the four smurflings huddled in the corner with various kitchen utensils. Hefty gestured to Willow and Stormy.

"Guys, this is Smurfwillow and Smurfstorm. Ladies, this is Nat, Snappy, Slouchy, and Sassette. Girls, smurflings. Smurflings, girls."

Willow and Stromy waved. " _Hey..."_

The smurflings waved back. _"Hey..."_

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's go!" Hefty stomped towards the stairs and marched through the kitchen area. He grabbed the table cloth and started shoveling food into a bindle. Several pairs of footsteps thundered down the stairs after him, followed by loud thumping as all four smurflings ended up sprawled on the floor. Willow stepped down the stairs, Stormy sliding down the banister just as calmly.

"Hefty, please," Nat begged, stumbling to his feet. "Don't go."

"What choice do I have?" he demanded, tying to bindle shut.

"Easy," Sassette chirped. "You could go, or you could stay, or you could go back to the village, or you could go out for frozen cow milk - "

"You mean ice cream?" Snappy asked.

"So that's what it's called," Smurfwillow said.

Hefty growled. "None, except for the first one, are options! I'm going to Bad Mountain, and I'm not smurfing back to the Village without Smurfette!"

Smurfstorm grabbed his arm as he began stomping out the door. "Okay, hold up, Hot Shot. These guys obviously have insight on this place. Maybe they can help."

"They're trying to stop me!" Hefty argued.

"Because they know something that we don't," Smurfstorm added. She peered over her shoulder at the smurflings staring at them. Hefty jerked his arm away.

"Fine. But make it quick."

Snappy stepped forward. "One thing to smurf is that it's incredibly unstable! Rocks are falling all the time. You never know when something might crumble underneath ya."

Smurfstorm nodded, listening.

"Next," Slouchy said. "It's dangerous to go alone, but even more so to travel in a group. I've smurfed with this little nitwits and they started arguing before we got ten feet about the ground."

"Oh, come on! We're three apples high!" Snappy said defensively.

Nat nudged him to the side. "And, lastly, but definitely not smurfly. Never, and I mean _never_ climb to the top."

Hefty and Smurfstorm glanced at each other nervously. "Why? What's at the top?"

Nat shook, terrified. "Nobody knows. Every smurf, human, or creature who makes it to the summit is never seen again. I've been to the mountain. I've seen hikers, travelers, lost and unfortunate rodents and hawks get swept into the fog. I never saw them come back."

Hefty's face had gone pale. "That's it. How do we get there?!"

"Did you not hear what I just smurfed?!" Nat asked. "Go to the top, never come back!"

Hefty took Smurfstorm's shoulders. "We have to stop her!" He jumped up to take his bindle.

"You're going to die!" Nat yelled.

Hefty thrust open the door, Smurfstorm and Smurfwillow gathering their belongings. "We can't wait. We have to go now! Now, NOW!"

Nat huffed and rolled his eyes. "I could smurf anything I want to right now. I know about your insane love of potatoes!" Smurfstorm hitched up her bow and arrows. "Your shrine to Smurfette isn't creepy at all!" Smurfwillow ushered Stormy out the door with her. "Your tattoo is removable!" Hefty thew his bindle over his shoulder. "I KNOW YOU WEAR CURLERS TO BED!"

Hefty stood in the doorway. "I'm really sorry, guys. But I can't let Smurfette risk her life. I'm going, and you can't do anything to smurf me out of it." He slammed the door shut.

"Hefty doesn't have any hair!" Slouchy said. "Or...does he?!"

* * *

Smurfette held the lantern Brainy had packed in front of her, the fog up ahead growing thicker. Smurflily and Brainy shivered with cold. Clumsy shivered mostly with fear.

"Um, Smurfette. I'm getting kinda spooked. Somethin' does seem right."

"It's okay, Clumsy," she said. "Remember what Brainy said about calming down?"

Clumsy spit out a berry. "Not to stress eat?"

"Good, and?"

"Um...when your breath starts to go flat, breath in and out into your hat." He grabbed his hat from his head and started breathing heavily into it. "This might take a while." He continued to breathe.

Smurfette did notice the air getting thinner. It didn't really matter to her, but she did gasp a few times. Her feet traveled from rock to snow as she knew that they were near the summit.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!"

"Smurfette."

"Keep going!"

"Smurfette, what is that?!"

She whirled around, the wind from whatever it was whipping her hair back. The silhouette of a large flying object quickly approaching them made Smurfette's blood run cold. She yelled for everyone to run as it gained on them. The fog was so thick, so could barely see in front of her even with the lantern. She glanced back at Brainy, who was struggling to keep up with her. She lost sight of Clumsy and Smurflily. She turned back around just in time to met the hard wood of a frozen, dead tree.

"Smurfette!" Brainy held her by the shoulders to hoist her back up. She looked around for the lantern, but found it when she heard a crunch beneath her shoe.

"Oh, smurf! Oh, smurf!" Brainy said, hiding behind Smurfette as the silhouette landed in front of them. "Oh, smurf. Oh, smurf! Oh, smurf me!"

A figure slipped off of the silhouette, slowly coming toward them. Smurfette braced herself for the animal to pounce on her, to tear the life away from her. A light suddenly lit up the tree, and Smurfette gasped angrily.

" _Hefty?!"_

"Smurfette!" Hefty set the lantern on a large rock, equally as angry as she. "What... in the smurf were you **_thinking?!_** Are you asking to get yourself killed?!"

She glowered. "I'm asking for answers! Why did you follow me?!"

"Why _wouldn't_ I follow you?! I'm trying to protect you!"

"I'm trying to find out why we were separated! Wouldn't you want to know?!"

"Sure, but I wouldn't risk my own life just for something that doesn't matter!"

" _Doesn't matter?!_ Did we go into the Forbidden Forest looking for something that 'didn't matter'? Stop smurfing my battles for me!" She turned to march back into the fog. Hefty pulled her back, holding her off the ground. She struggled against him.

"I'm not... going to let you ...do this!" he strained against her kicking.

"I'm not going to let you stop me!" she retaliated, digging her elbow into his chest. He cried out in pain, dropping her. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest. She turned around, not finished with him, but noticed him collapsed on the ground. She wasn't that strong, at least not strong enough to really hurt Hefty. He was always the type to bounce right back. But he sat on the ground, writhing.

She grabbed the lantern and brought it closer to Hefty. She thought, just barely, that she could see several scars run down his chest. She gasped in horror. "H-Hefty... I-I didn't know."

The shard in her pocket glowed bright. She pulled it out. Hefty stared at the shard in confusion, pulling out his own glowing shard. The two stared at the shards before the fog disappeared in the blink of an eye. Smurfette could plainly see Smurfstorm and Smurfwillow on Spitfire. Clumsy and Smurflily were holding onto each other, shivering in fear until they saw them. Smurfette looked around in confusion.

"Look!" Clumsy pointed to a structure tucked away under a few rocks. It almost looked like a mushroom hut. Smurfette slipped out of her rope and slowly made her way to the front door. She glanced nervously over her shoulder before ringing the little bell beside the old fashioned door. The door slowly creaked open. Smurfette blinked in amazement. An elderly Smurfette with gray hair, a violet dress, a pink scarf, and little round glasses stood at the door smiling at her.

Smurflily and Smurfstorm approached to stand beside Smurfette, both of them in just as much awe.

"Nanny Smurf?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Hello, my little smurflings."

Smurfette stared at the elderly smurfette in confusion as they entered the house, Smurflily, Clumsy, and Brainy staring in awe. Smurfwillow merely glanced to the side as she and Smurfstorm followed. Smurflily knelt to her knees and bowed before Nanny.

"Oh, my liege! You guys!" She pulled Clumsy and Brainy into the same position. "It is the first Leader of Smurfy Grove."

"You have journeyed far, little smurflings. Come sit." She gestured over to a cozy fireplace. Smurflily and Clumsy gratefully slid over to warm themselves.

Nanny turned toward the white-haired Smurfette giving her a not-so-welcoming stare. "Willow..."

Smurfwillow huffed and marched to the fireplace and humped down onto the knitted rug. Smurfstorm stood by Smurfwillow, still alert as ever. Smurfette took to the couch on the opposite the rocking chair by the fireplace. Brainy sat beside Smurfette while Hefty sat in an armchair, still wearing a scowl on his face. Smurfette rolled her eyes. He needed to get over it, they were already there.

Nanny Smurf hobbled over and sat down in the rocking chair, rocking back and forth with the knitting needles in her hands.

"Nanny Smurf," Smurfette began. "It's truly an honor. I'm Smurfette."

"Hah!" Nanny laughed. "A Smurf named Smurfette. Might as well name a mountain lion "Lioness". "

"Okay, that was rude!" Hefty snapped.

"Hefty!" Smurfette hissed. "Yeah, I didn't name myself, but that's not the point. I'm here because I need answers."

She pulled out the violet pendant. Nanny looked up, adjusting her glasses, and gasped. "My pendant!" Smurfette stepped over to hand her the necklace. "I haven't seen this for centuries." She hung it around her neck. The pendant began to glow. It was brighter than before, so much that it nearly blinded Smurfette. Nanny breathed in. "I'd almost forgotten what it felt like."

Everyone stared in awe, except for Smurfwillow. "Oh, yeah...Really pretty. Ooh, ah! Thank you for showing off!"

Smurfette shot Willow a glare before stepping back to the couch. Nanny leaned forward in her chair. "You seek answers, my dear."

Smurfette nodded. "What happened? Why were males and females separated? And what was the Blue Moon before we were split up?"

Nanny shakily stood up, cupping the pendant in her hands. A strange violet aura swirled around it before spreading around the room. Smurfette's vision clouded with purple smoke and sparkles before she could make out the outline of a young Smurfette. Nanny's voice spoke softly:

 _"For thousands of years, the Smurfs did live unified under the leadership of a Smurf and a Smurfette bound by love and trust. In this case it was me and your Grandpa Smurf..."_

A young Smurf resembling Papa Smurf appeared beside the Smurfette, presumably Nanny. A large village appeared, the huts on the ground and up hills, but also nested on the trunks of trees and hanging from branches. She could see many couples together.

 _"We lived among our brothers and sisters, our children and grandchildren for 25 generations. And, for every generation, the Blue Moon appeared. The Blue Moon was our patron, our protector and oracle. Every generation, we would host a grand ball and whomever was chosen by the Blue Moon to be bound together would take on the tradition of bearing one of the next Great Leaders. I was among the ones chosen by the Moon, as was my mother and father incidentally."_

The couples waltz about the field, gazing lovingly at each other. The moon hazed its glow on one of them, and they shared a kiss. But the image faded.

" _It was the one thing everyone looked forward to...but it ended tragically."_

The image changed to an evil looking man with sleek, black hair and flowing indigo robes. A group of Smurfs were trapped in what looked like a lab similar to Gargamel's. They dangled from a cage until a young Nanny picked the lock and freed her comrades. But as the last Smurf dropped from the cage, the man grabbed him. Nanny pulled at the man's sleeve, knocking over a few potions.

 _"Count Gregorian, an evil sorcerer had sought revenge on the Smurfs for their involvement in his raven transformation..."_

The smoke cleared from the man's face, and Smurfette gasped at the sight. His head was replaced with the feathers of a raven with a golden beak and piercing eyes. He screeched.

 _"He sent his ravens after us night after night in hopes of bringing him justice. We were forced to flee several times. Our only comfort was the light of the moon. On the night when the Blue Moon was to rise, the moon had already cast its glow on its chosen smurfs. But, in our naivety, the ravens attacked. Our village was destroyed. Many lives were lost. We tried to flee, but most of our kind was flown away, never to return. We would not have survived had the storks not flown us to safety in the dense forest."_

Smurfette watched with tears in her eyes as flurries of black feathers swarmed her vision, followed by the terror-filled cried of the Smurfs. The storks flew down to let the survivors rest. Nanny and Grandpa looked at each other.

" _We realized that the Blue Moon cycle was broken, as the young couple who was chosen had died without bearing a child. So, with heavy hearts, the Smurfs and Smurfettes were forced to go our separate ways to ensure that this would never happen again."_

The image faded as they both turned.

 _"In our gratitude, we praised the storks and kept them as loyal friends. In return, every time the Blue Moon rose thereafter, they promised a supply of one Smurf baby to each of the villages for the next 1,000 years."_

The mist disappeared, Smurfette returning to the room with her friends. "So, you separated to...keep everyone safe."

Nanny nodded solemnly. "Every day, I still mourn those who'd lost their lives that night."

Smurfwillow scoffed. "Oh, honestly!" She kicked off the rug and marched out the door. Smurfette glanced at Smurflily before they both rushed after her. Willow had already mounted herself on Spitfire.

"Willow, wait!" Lily called out. "Where are you going? What happened?"

Willow sighed. "I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you."

"Too bad!" Smurfette shouted. "I'm tired of all these secrets!"

"Smurfette, sometimes secrets aren't meant to be shared!"

Smurfette was pulled back by Smurflily before she could get too close. "You don't know how hard I've tried just to know who I am!"

"AND YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD I'VE TRIED TO FORGET MY SISTER!" Smurfette and Smurflily went silent as tears streamed down the elder Smurfette's face. They glanced at each other.

"Your sister?" Smurfette asked.

"She knew it was too dangerous..." Willow continued. "She knew the ravens would be waiting for us...But when the moon shone down on Smurfsallow...She could have stopped it! She could have saved her! She could have cancelled that _STUPID_ ball!"

"Who?"

Smurfwillow breathed shakily. "My mother..."

Smurflily gasped. Smurfette darted her eyes from Smurfwillow, to Smurflily, to Nanny Smurf's hut, the puzzle pieces slowly coming together.

"Oh, Smurfwillow...I'm so sorry." Smurfette fell to her knees, hanging her head. Smurfwillow wiped away her tears, sliding off her dragonfly. "I had no idea."

"No, I had no idea how much this meant to you," Smurfwillow said, kneeling down to Smurfette's level. "All you wanted to know was the truth. I just wanted to protect you from the pain that I carry with me."

Smurfette threw her arms around the elderly Smurfette. After a moment of silence, she felt Willow's arms around her waist. This was it. Smurfette knew the truth. Not at all what she was expecting, but she was glad to know. Perhaps now she could make things right.

"Willow, I think we should try to learn more about our past."

Smurfwillow shook her head. "No, Smurfette. I can't stay on this mountain. Not with her!" She pointed back to Nanny's hut. "I can't forgive her, no matter how hard I try. Even if I could, this mountain is evil. I can't stay for long."

Smurfette started to ask why, but Smurwillow's pendant glowed red. Smurfwillow held her temples, covering her ears as if she were in pain. Smurflily approached to assist her, but Smurfwillow gently pushed her away.

"Just, don't trust her, Smurfette. Please." With that, she turned and mounted Spitfire. "I'll send for someone to take you back to the Village as soon as possible. During that time, stay inside until you see a stork. Understand?!"

Smurfette and Smurflily nodded, still confused. Smurfwillow turned and finally flew off on Spitfire, disappearing into the horizon. Smurflily furrowed her eyebrows.

"You don't really think she meant anything like that, do you?" Smurfette asked.

Smurflily shook her head. "I'm not sure. I still belief Nanny Smurf to be one of the greats! But, I also trust Willow's judgement. She's usually right about people when she knows them. Maybe we should be suspicious."

Smurfette sighed. "I still don't think I have the full story. Maybe we should stay a few days just to see what exactly is going on."

* * *

They stayed on the mountaintop for two more days. Smurfette checked every hour for someone to come, but no one did. She was starting to get worried. Bad Mountain wasn't really far from Smurf Village, in terms of flight. It would take three days at the most for them to reach the Mountain and back. She munched on some black bread, noting that it was really stale. She ran Smurfwillow's warning through her head. Why shouldn't she go outside? Would something happen?

In the midst of her thinking, she fingered her shard. She shuddered inside. So many innocent lives taken that night, because of an evil wizard. She almost laughed at the parallels. But, her story had a different ending, a happier ending. Everyone made it; she'd saved them. She defeated the wizard. She already assumed what happened with Gregorian. Papa Smurf had told her a story of how the Smurfs assisted a knight and his squire to save a princess from an evil raven-headed wizard, and how he was permanently transformed into a raven. She doubted that ravens, even wizards turned into ravens, would live for a thousand years. He was surely dead now. It would have relieved her if she hadn't gone through such an adventure.

She sighed. _Maybe Hefty and Smurfwillow were right,_ she thought. _What if this wasn't really worth it? I was risking my life for a story that didn't even have a happy ending._

A crack in the floorboards erupted her thoughts. She turned slightly, noticing Hefty halfway down the stairs. She turned away, knowing the lecture that was to come. She was ready; she deserved it. She hadn't really found anything that mattered, even after she decided to stay for a little while longer. So, she let Hefty sit down beside her on the couch and prepared herself.

"...you're up late," was all he said. She nodded. "Couldn't sleep either?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just... I know I shouldn't be but... I'm confused."

He leaned forward, trying to meet her gaze. "About what?"

"Well...it makes sense, I guess. Everything smurfs up: the storks, the villages, and the Blue Moon. I know everything now. I should be smurfy with that."

"But...?"

She sighed. "But, what now? I smurfed all this time looking, and now that I found it, I'm unhappy."

Hefty put his hand hesitantly on her shoulder. "Hey, that doesn't mean you can't keep smurfing for something. There are plenty of things to smurf for." She averted her gaze. "It's because you're a searcher! You've always been a searcher! You've been looking and smurfing your whole life, and you weren't going to stop when you wanted answers."

She blinked, slowly bringing her gaze up to the fire in the hearth. "Maybe I didn't do it to get answers. Maybe..." she hugged her shoulders. "Maybe what I really wanted was to prove that I really had a purpose, that I was more than just the only Smurfette, more than a lump of clay. So, when I looked into the mirror, I'd see a real Smurf, someone worthwhile." She stared into her shard, her crystal blue eyes staring back at her. Her vision blurred with tears. "But I was wrong. I see _nothing!_ "

She cast the shard onto the floor, drawing her knees up to hide her face. Hefty scrambled to grab her fallen shard. He stared at her helplessly. He walked into the kitchen, retrieving a shiny silver pan. He held it up to her.

"Well, that's because you don't have a good mirror. Look at you; you're so pretty." She glanced up at him, silently begging him to just stop. He sighed, setting the pan aside. "Look, the truth is, we're both frauds. When I heard you didn't want to marry anyone, I thought I could handle it. But I smurfed down like everyone else. I didn't realize that..." He couldn't finished. His hand flew to his face, trying to hide the blush at his cheeks.

She finally lifted her eyes to look at him. He was embarrassed. She had been convinced that he had been furious with her, forgetting all about what had really happened. But he remembered, and she could tell from his face how sorry he was. She inched a bit closer to take his free hand. He peeked from behind his fingers to glance down at her hand in his. She smiled.

"Can we just go back to how it was before?" he asked.

She was about to answer, but somehow she could find the voice to. What was before? Him living with his feelings pressed down, swelling up inside him until it burst? She felt her heart pounding. Even after everything that had happened, he'd done so much for her. He supported her, listened to her, treated her as if she were the only one he could really talk to. But, even with this, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

She nodded, "Yeah." She leaned into his chest, watching the fire crackle and burn. She was so warm, and so tired.


	9. Chapter 9

Smurfette awoke that morning to discover herself alone on the couch. The fire had reduced to little more than faint embers. A blanket was draped over her, her shard left under her hand. Hefty was gone. She sighed, wondering if their encounter had been nothing but a dream. But it seemed too real. Usually her dreams were filled with things even Dreamy Smurf couldn't understand. She glanced near the hearth, noticing the silver pan left discarded on the stone. Hefty had been here, and her feelings were all too real.

She found herself too hot, throwing off her blanket. This wasn't enough, so she maneuvered to the kitchen for some water. She filled a wooden mug with cold water and drained it down her throat. She sighed gratefully, before she filled it again and drank it again. She set the mug aside and went for the fruit bowl on the table. She took a tiny apple from the bowl and prepared to take a bite, but stopped.

 _Hadn't Nanny told us that all this fruit was fresh?_ she thought. She could have sworn she said that. But, if that were the case, why was this apple not only brown and wrinkled, but brittle? She barely dug her fingers into it before it crumbled into dust and piled on the floor. She went to the sink to wash her hand off. The water ran the apple crust off her hand, but the metal of the faucet was rusted. She recoiled when the water turned a brownish-red. She wiped her hand on a towel, which had not aged.

"What is happening here?" she thought aloud. She pulled back the archaic curtains to gaze outside. The fog was clearing, clearly not as thick as it was days ago. "What the - ?" She turned her head upstairs. "Brainy? Smurflily? Clumsy? Stormy?" she called out for anyone who might be listening. She heard some shuffling coming from the upper floor, so she hustled up the stairs and opened the doors of the halls. The boys' room was empty, so she tried Lily and Stormy's room. Smurflily sat on the extra bed laid out for her. Smurfette approached quietly.

"Smurflily?" She lifted her head to meet Smurfette's eyes, her own eyes red. "What's wrong?"

Without answering her directly, Smurflily took her hand and led her to a door at the end of the hall. Smurfette slowly pulled it open and her stomach dropped. Everyone was gathered around a small cot, the tiny figure of Nanny curled up in the blankets. She circled the bed. Nanny's face was barely visible underneath the blankets, her wrinkled face caved in to look frailly thin.

"N-Nanny?"

The elderly Smurfette blinked her eyes, barely able to keep them open. "My dear...it's my time."

"You're...?" Nanny nodded. "But why now?"

"I have kept this place in limbo..." she said slowly. "For centuries. Without my pendant, I was not able...to smurfly lift this time loop. So many innocent travelers...I watch them smurf to see me...and then, once they leave...they smurf to ash. It was never my choice to...never return to my little Smurfettes." She shakily reached for a small jewelry box. Smurfette handed it to her to open it, handing her a tiny photograph. "Especially...after how I let them down."

Smurfette examined the picture. It was merely an outline on a leaf, but she could make it out to be a younger Nanny Smurf. She knelt down beside two young smurflings, the older being Smurfwillow and the younger someone she didn't recognize. But she knew who it was right away.

"But, Nanny...Nanny, don't you want to reconnect with Smurfwil - I mean, the Smurfs? They need their mother."

Nanny shook her head slowly, her thin hand coming up to smooth her blonde hair. "No...they don't need me anymore. The 1,000 years has come to an end. They need you...Smurfsallow."

Smurfette blinked in surprise at that name, but she couldn't argue with a little old lady dying in her bed. She laid back on the pillow and sighed, a cold wind blowing in from the open window. They stared at her for a few moments before bowing their heads in respect. A tear ran down Smurflily's cheek and she turned to sob into Smurfstorm's dress. Smurfette tried to move the blanket to pull it over Nanny's head, but a small speck of violet glowed on her cheek. Her confusion turned to awe as she skin shimmered with violet beads of light and began to flake off of her skin.

The flakes flew through the room, on the wind and even getting lost in Smurfette's hair a few times. She resisted the urge to recoil, but on closer inspection, she realized that the flakes were flower petals: Violets. She was sure tears were running down her own face as the glowing flower petals completely engulfed Nanny until there was no trace of her left. The petals swirled around the room until they danced out the open window, disappearing on the wind into the horizon.

Smurfette wiped the tears from her face. Nanny was gone, leaving only the base of her pendant on the bed. Hefty's hand squeezed her shoulder. Without thinking, she whirled around and hugged him, crying into his scarred chest. He began to say something, but sighed.

A loud knock at the door shattered the mourning silence in the room. Brainy was the first to move, heading downstairs to peek out the window. Smurfette followed suit and was relieved to find Feathers and two other storks outside. She opened the door, but she couldn't see anything.

"Don't go, I said. Bad idea, I said." She looked down and gasped at the four smurflings walking in from below her waist. "Hefty, if I ever get the strength to throttle you, I will - !"

"Nat?" she asked in surprise. The smurfling in the straw hat and brown overalls turned around and waved shyly.

"Hiya, Smurfette."

"We've come to take you guys home," said the smurfling in the yellow t-shirt.

"Snappy?" She turned to the others. "Slouchy? And...you...?"

"I'm Sassette!" the little smurfette chirped. "I was made by clay, just like you!"

"Bu-But...how?!"

Smurflily and Smurfstorm held her gently by the wrists, leading her outside as she was babbling in shock. They hoisted her onto one of the storks, the boys taking another while the smurflings took Feathers.

"Let's get out of here," Nat shivered. "This place gives me the smurfs!"

* * *

The storks soared over the forest faster than a dragonfly ever could. Smurfette laid against the stork's back, gently gripping the soft feathers. She squeezed the hard smurfstone shard in her palm, feeling a warm glow emit from it. She hadn't managed to ask Nanny about the smurfstones and how they worked. What made them glow when they did, and for how long, and how brightly? She only hoped Nanny was at peace.

The storks swooped down to a clearing, and Smurfette recognized it as the Village. It seemed like so long ago she'd left, and now she was coming back. The storks landed in the center of the path among the mushroom huts. Smurfette slid off as everyone began pouring out of the huts to greet them. Smurfette held her breath as Smurfblossom ran up and wrapped her arms around as many Smurfs as she could with Smurfette in the midst.

She drew in a breath when Smurfblossom released them all, and staggered a bit when several of them edged closer to her and tried to ask her an enormous number of questions at once. All she could say was in a whisper: _"Meet me at the Great Oak in two hours and bring as many smurfs as you can. Don't tell Smurfwillow."_

She then wove carefully through the crowd and disappeared inside her house, clutching the shard. She squinted into it. This had to give her some sort of insight. It couldn't have just been a useless hunk of rock. She peeked behind the curtains, the reflection of a half moon nearly invisible in the sky. The shard glowed intensely, but Smurfette forced her eyes to stay glued to it. It glowed brighter and brighter until a sudden beam of light shot into her eyes, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Ah...jeez! What the - ?" She held her head, rubbing her eyes to readjust to the light. Everything was blue. The curtains were blue, the floor was blue, all her decorations were blue. She tried to rub the halluncinogenic colors out of her eyes. But the color stayed as if stained to her room. The color started to fade a bit, but remaining on a few certain items: her flowers, her dresses in the closet, her decorative lights, and, strangest of all, the pile of love letters in the back she tried keeping under her bed.

She scooped the shard off the floor and held it in front of her.

"What are you trying to tell me?" she asked, as if expecting an answer. The four items blinked blue again in the same pattern before the shard blinked again.

"Um...you want me to have a party?" It blinked the items again.

"You want the girls to smurf flowers and write letters to me?" Again, the items blinked.

"No way am I getting married now!" she snapped at it. It shot another beam of light into her eyes in retaliation. She rubbed her eyes again, the blue dots clouding her vision settling on the window. Curiously, she peeked outside again. Everything seemed normal. It shone softly, but insistently. She checked again, and her eyes grew wide. The moon, which she could have sworn had been white when she looked, was now a deep, vibrant blue.

"Blue Moon!" The shard glowed in relief. "You're trying to tell me about the Blue Moon Ball. You could have smurfed that in writ - Never mind."

She had to stop herself. The shard couldn't possibly tell her that way: one, because it was a shard; and two, because she already knew. The steady blue dots shot into her eyes revealed traditions, music, and past events. She could see it, and it scared her a bit.

 _This must be how Dreamy thinks._ She wondered how some people could live like that. But, either way, she had some work to do. She grabbed some paper and even scrap leaves from her boudoir and began writing.

* * *

At 5 that night, everyone had gathered by the Great Oak. The 199 Smurfs murmured, wondering what Smurfette wanted to tell them. They stopped and looked up as Smurfette hoisted herself onto the large mushroom and waved.

"Okay, guys. I'm really sorry I smurfed away from the Village _again_ , but I learned so much! Not just about Smurfettes, but about the Smurf species itself!"

Everyone glanced at each other in confusion, murmuring.

"Smurfs weren't always brought by a stork every Blue Moon," she explained, pulling out her papers. She stuck Brainy's stork map to a drawing of a Blue Moon to the Oak with snails, along with some drawings and descriptions of various other findings. "We did smurf together before! We smurfed together for thousands of years. We were led by two Smurfs, a Smurf and a Smurfette, smurfing these." She pulled out her smurfstone shard.

"The Blue Moon, it still brought a Smurf baby, in a way. But, it smurfs who will have that baby."

The crowd went silent, with boredom or confusion, she couldn't tell.

"Yeah, smurf with me here. I'm begging you." She couldn't tell them how she knew. What was she going to tell them; that a glowing rock, used to heal other living beings before Clumsy broke it, told her the secrets of the Smurfs' past? Smurfette's heard weirder, but it still seemed too far-fetched for even Gullible Smurf to believe.

"Let's start over," she sighed. "Look, the Blue Moon, when it comes back next, won't directly bring another Smurf baby. We have a dance and whoever is chosen by its light will have the babies."

The Smurfs remained silent.

"Those chosen are bound together for eternity," she said deadpan. Now the crowd erupted into cheering. She rolled her eyes, chuckling. Everyone, except Grouchy who was simply pouting about the entire thing, seemed happy enough, so what was the harm.

Someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. Smurfette whirled around to discover Smurfwillow behind her, an angry stare on her face.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

Smurfette pulled her arm away. "I"m bringing back Smurf tradition. How did you know we were talking about this? Who told you?"

"Why bother when you're ten feet below my house." Smurfwillow pointed upward towards her tree hut. "I'm not mad you're bringing tradition back.. What angers me is that you purposely left me out of it."

"I didn't think you'd want to be a part of it again," Smurfette said.

"No, that's not the case. I'm alright with it. There is no threat." Smurfette sighed in relief. "But don't expect me to participate."

"But, Willow - "

"I'm _NOT_ going," Smurfwillow emphasized and slid off the mushroom, marching back toward the main village area. Papa Smurf glanced nervously at the crowd before running after her. Smurfette stood awkwardly at the top of the mushroom, everyone staring at her.

"Uh...so, yeah. If we want to prepare for the next Blue Moon, we'd better get smurfing. Come to me for all the details."

She slid down from the mushroom, hiding in the smurf-high grass behind it. She was glad everyone was excited, but something nagged her. Smurfwillow's outburst, proclaiming she'd have no part of Blue Moon, triggered Smurfette's promise of not being ready to marry. If being part of this meant possibly being chosen, was she ready for a curveball like that. She stared down at her hands, balling them into fists. They couldn't possibly handle the rejection of her not going, but the possibility of marriage made her choke. How could the moon decide who she should marry, and what if she didn't feel the same about him?

She wasn't ready.

* * *

 **This chapter was admittedly a little rushed, but I just can't wait to dive into the Blue Moon Ball. How do you feel that Smurfette won't be going to the BMB? Thanks for all the positive reviews and be sure to leave one if you're liking this so far. Thx!**


	10. Chapter 10

Smurfette awoke to the bustling of other Smurfs below. Lanterns were being hung from every string. Blue and white ribbons were tied to door frames and lampposts. Blue Moon was coming. Papa's predictions were never wrong. She remembered what Nanny Smurf had told her. The Blue Moon signified something new. Nowadays, it meant the coming of a Smurf baby. But, Nanny had mentioned it meaning something different before the Smurfs and Smurfettes were separated 1,000 years ago. It was something romantic.

Smurfette quickly dressed, grabbed her bag, and made her merry way down the path, waving to her friends as she passed. A long line outside Tailor's house meant Smurfettes wanting dresses. Greedy, Chef, and Baker Smurf were working nonstop, creating a feast fit for a king. Smurfette smirked. Smurfwillow was not pleased at all about the preparations, but Smurfette didn't care. She wanted the Smurf tradition to live on, never to be forgotten again.

She strolled up to Vanity's hut and knocked lightly. The door slowly swung open, Vanity staring into his hand mirror.

"Hi, Vanity."

"Hello, Smurfette," he greeted, never looking away from his mirror.

"I know you said that you'd only go to the ball with someone as beautiful as you, so I made this for you." She pulled the stand from behind her back and Vanity's eyes widened in awe. One of Tailor's mannequins, dressed in a red dress and blue wig, had been strapped with a reflective panel across its head. Vanity dropped the mirror he held and gazed into the mirror of the mannequin.

"Hello, gorgeous..." He dipped the mannequin, still in awe. "I shall go to the ball!"

Smurfette giggled. "Okay, glad I could help."

Vanity slammed the door behind him, and Smurfette went on her way. The village was sparkling, not only with the decorations but with the Smurfs. Nat Smurfling was just as bombarded with Smurfs as Tailor was with Smurfettes. Every kind of blue flower from hydrangeas to Morning Glories were being handed out for five smurfberries each. She watched as they then looped around to Poet Smurf's hut. Now, that was one tradition Smurfette tried to erase. Every smurf must ask their partner with a blue flower and a romantic poem. Smurfette found it rather sappy, however. And it was even more disappointing that most of them couldn't figure one out on their own.

She crept behind one of the huts to avoid being seen. She had hoped that because she'd said everything against the ball that they'd stop going to her as their first choice. She ducked under the window and inched back to a side path. She turned and yelped.

"Hey, Smurfette!" Jokey handed her a yellow box with a red ribbon. "This is for you." She stepped back a bit. "No, no! It's not that, I promise!" He pulled out a piece of paper from behind his back:

 _"In honor of this special night,  
_ _This is my gift to you  
_ _Flowers of glittering beauty  
_ _Of the most beautiful blue."_

He opened the box, beautiful irises popping out of it. Smurfette blushed.

"Smurfette, will you smurf with me to the Blue Moon Ball?"

Smurfette was about to answer, but she remembered. She promised herself that she wouldn't take a partner, if she even went at all. As much as that little part of her wanted someone to hold her close and dance with her, she couldn't bring herself to break her own heart. She smiled politely and took one of the flowers.

"Well, Jokey. I don't know what to say. I think..." She glanced at his hopeful face, guilt shooting at her chest like darts. "...let me think about it." She turned and ran away.

What was she thinking? But how could she turn him down? She couldn't say no, it would break his heart. She couldn't say yes either, it could get her in trouble. She shook her head, running the same thought over and over in her head.

" _I don't want to go to the Blue Moon Ball... I don't want to go to the Blue Moon Ball..."_

She tucked the flower into her shoulder bag, along with the other 84, and headed down the street to her house. She was at her gate when a voice stopped her.

"Smurfette!" Clumsy came tripping down the path, landing in the dirt with a bouquet of Lily-of-the-Niles. "Smurfette, you think you could - "

"Go ahead, Clumsy," she relented. "You can ask me."

"W-What? Golly, I-I'm flattered that you think I'd smurf you to the...the...the ball." Clumsy gulped, shaking nervously. "But, these aren't for you. I was going to ask you, if I do go, if you could teach me how to dance?"

She blinked. "Oh, Clumsy. That's actually the best offer I've smurfed all day."

Clumsy raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you would be smurfier with a bouquet."

"Oh, I have a bouquet," she scooped a handful of petals out of her bag. "with a flower from everyone."

"Oh, gosh!"

Smurfette chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I have a lot of Smurfs to let down today."

"Gee, that's awful," Clumsy moaned.

She glanced up at him. "So, who's the smurfy lady?"

Clumsy darted his eyes, glancing back at the line of Smurfettes outside Tailor's door. Smurflily was chatting with Smurfclover and Smurfjade as Smurfclover entered Tailor's hut.

" _Oh, Clumsy..."_ she purred. "You rascal!"

"Smurfette, I know you don't mean to smurf my feelings. But I'm under a lot of pressure right now."

"Sorry. She's going to love it."

Clumsy gazed at his bouquet, then back at the line of Smurfettes. "You're sure?"

Smurfette nodded and lightly punched him on the shoulder. He stumbled, but regained his footing as he nervously stepped up to the line. He tapped Smurflily on the shoulder. Smurfette, too intrigued, crept up behind a fence to watch. Clumsy, hands shaking, began reciting his sappy poem:

" _Your eyes shine like jewels  
_ _A-As bright as l-lily flower  
_ _I give to you these pr-precious blooms  
_ _I-In exchange for a Blue M-Moon hour."_

"Sm-Smurflily, w-will you smurf w-with me...t-to the Bl-Blue Moon Ball?"

Smurflily blushed and slowly accepted the bouquet. "Aw, Clumsy. Of course."

Everyone in the area applauded for Clumsy and Smurflily. She pinned a few tiny lily buds in her hat and held the rest in one hand. Smurfette smiled as the crowd applauded for them. She loved that they'd managed to come together. She crawled away from the crowd, making her way back to her hut. She quickly ran to her front door and slipped inside. She set her bag on the table and began laying out every kind of flower petal from the flowers given to her. 85 kinds; 85 smurfs. She banged her head into the table.

She was still flattered. It was reassuring to know that everyone still loved her and wanted to be around her. But, still, there were more Smurfs in the forest now. She was glad some had found their soulmates: Papa and Smurfwillow, Harmony and Smurfmelody, Clumsy and Smurflily, Vanity and...well, Vanity. It warmed her heart to see that, but she wanted her fellow Smurfs to have that connection as well, so she could move on.

A knock came at her door. She froze. Someone coming to ask her again? But who else was there to ask her. She crept over to the door and peeked through the heart-shaped peephole. She heaved a sigh of relief. It was only Hefty. She opened the door for him.

"Hi, Hefty."

"Oh, uh, Smurfette. Hello." He was trying to be flirtatious. Somehow, she fought herself to find the humor in it and giggled. She waved him inside. He stepped in, closing the door behind him. "I am loving what you've smurfed to the Village. Tailor, Poet, and Nat haven't had real business in years, the village has never been cleaner, and Smurf-B seems to be going smurfs for that blueberry puree fudge."

Smurfette giggled at the last part. "Smurfblossom is just one big smurf of energy. Whoever asks her is sure to be lucky."

"Lucky already asked someone else," Hefty said. She shot him a flat look until he chuckled. "Kidding. I know what you mean."

She headed for the kitchen, trying to sweep away the flower petals before Hefty could notice. She was too late.

"So, uh...you weren't anyone's first choice?"

"Shut up," she sighed. "I've had a rough couple of days." She fell back into her chair, Hefty pulling another closer to him.

"Talk to me," he pleaded.

Where was she to start? "Oh, Hefty..."

"Look, you can tell me whatever you want. This is a free, nonjudgemental environment."

"Well, first...I think Smurfwillow hates me!"

Hefty scoffed. "Oh, come on! She does not _hate_ you."

"Then, why does she not want to be around me, or support me in what I'm smurfing, or even try to acknowledge that I'm smurfing for what I am?!"

"I think," he said gently. "I think she's just scared, and hurt. I saw the vision too, you know. It was pretty painful to smurf. And Papa and I, we did talk to her about the situation."

"Does she know?" she asked.

Hefty glanced away, nodding. It was a delicate subject now, and no one particularly cared to talk about it. "Yeah, she - she knows."

"How'd she take it?"

"I'm...not sure," he admitted. "She just stood there just...as if we weren't even there."

She sighed. "I can't imagine..."

Hefty shrugged. "I guess none of us can really relate. But, that doesn't mean we can't support her, right?"

Smurfette nodded, despondently staring at the ground. "Well, at least she's alright."

"That's not all, is it?" he asked. "Your eyes are still big."

"What?"

"Your eyes get all big and shiny whenever something's smurfing you. Come on, you can tell me." She shook her head. "I told you: free, nonjudgemental environment."

She hesitated. Was Hefty really the right person to talk to about this? He did admit to not handling her proclamation of _not_ marrying, and she knew how he felt about her. It also seemed hypocritical. Why would she plan something she wouldn't attend?

"I...I don't...I'm not sure I can go to the Ball."

He stared at her for a bit, leaning forward to bring his gaze to the floor. The silence dragged on longer than she'd expected. What was he thinking? Was he angry? Was he hurt? Had she been right in not wanting to tell him? He wasn't even asking her to elaborate: no begging, no lectures, not even reasons why. He just sat there with his chair turned the other way and his eyes on the floor.

After what felt like eternity, he finally stood up and said, "Okay. If that's what you want."

No clear emotion could be read on his face. Maybe this was what Smurfwillow looked like when she heard the news about Nanny. He quickly, but calmly, turned and headed for the door, disappearing from sight. Smurfette couldn't move; she was in shock. What had she done? What just happened? For about five minutes, she sat in silence until she sprang to her feet and ran to the door, flinging it open. No one was in sight. It seemed everyone had gone to ask the other Smurfettes, or at least prepare in the forest. She sighed and looked down.

At her feet was a single lavender rose in full bloom. She plucked it off the ground and held it to her face. Her heart started racing, her hands mangling the stem that held the rose in bloom. Now she knew why Hefty had come, and she regretted what she said. How could she do that to him?

"Oh, Hefty..."


	11. Chapter 11

Two nights later, everything was ready. Every lantern was hung, every flower was given, and Tailor, Nat, and Poet were exhausted beyond belief. Everyone had eventually chosen a partner: Lucky with Smurfclover, Smurfhazel with Farmer, Jokey with Smurfpoppy, Brainy with Smurfblossom (which Smurfette had to laugh about), just to name a few. Everyone had gotten their dress, even Vanity's mannequin which he'd refused to put down. Everything was set up in the clearing by the Great Oak where the moon would be most visible. She waved to Harmony and Smurfmelody setting up the stage for music. Everyone seemed in good spirits, even Clumsy. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Clumsy." He stumbled, but Smurfette caught him before he could fall. She giggled. "Same time tonight for dance lessons?"

"A-Are ya sure? I'm sure your tired of your feet getting smurfed on."

Smurfette waved it off. "It happens to all of us, Clumsy. Don't let it stop you." She winked.

"How's, uh...Brainy feeling about this?"

She giggled. "Well, let's just say he's..." she glanced over to where Smurfblossom was already dancing on the empty dance floor, Brainy jotting down some notes and recording logs on her. "...occupied."

Clumsy chuckled. "You think they'll get along well?"

"Considering how much they both talk and how many times Smurfblossom has smurfed into his library," Smurfette thought aloud. "I think they'll be just fine."

They both laughed, watching Smurfblossom pull Brainy over with her and spin him around, dipping him. Was it odd? Yes, but also rather sweet. Don't judge.

"So, who're ya bringing, Smurfette?" she heard Clumsy ask. Another shot of guilt hit her right in the stomach. She'd let down so many, but that wasn't what was bothering her. She'd let down Hefty, someone she knew and trusted. Someone she...

"Um, Smurfette? Did ya hear me?"

She turned to face him and tried to stammer something to evade the question. "Um...is Hefty going?"

"Well, course he is!" Clumsy answered. "But, you're a bit too late. He's already smurfed Smurfstorm to the ball."

Smurfette's heart turned to stone, dropping into her stomach. After what she'd done, she didn't blame him. But it hurt nonetheless. She bitterly wished to reset that day, to change what she'd said.

"S-Smurfstorm, huh?" she said softly. "...lucky him. Lucky her."

"Smurfette, you okay?"

Smurfette blinked back tears, the blue lanterns above them blurring into blue blobs of nothingness. She turned away from it all.

"I have to go."

She didn't wait for an answer. She turned on her heels and made her steady way back towards her hut. It seemed like an eternity before she got there, but when she did, she kicked off her shoes, collapsed on the bed, and sobbed.

* * *

Night had fallen, the sky an indigo black. The Blue Moon would be rising. Every smurf in the village was dressed to impress; the Smurfettes modeling beautiful white dresses, each with a unique look, while the Smurfs donned black, blue, or white suits. Smurfette watched from the safety of her room as everyone met with their partners to gather on the dance floor. She glanced at Vanity (who was already making out with his mannequin date), Brainy and Smurfblossom (wearing a pink trimmed dress and yapping Brainy's ear off), Grouchy (who said that he hated dances, but also hated to be left out).

Her eyes finally landed on Hefty. He was so handsome in his black suit, the cloth tight against his broad chest. Even though his tattoo was covered by his sleeve, she could tell right away it was him. He held out his hand and Smurfette could barely see Smurfstorm come into view of her window, wearing a simple, but formal white dress with her quiver still slung over her shoulder.

She flung the curtains back, barely standing to watch what might have been. She flew to her boudoir and bawled, trying to erase what had happened just days before, but what was the point now? He looked so happy, not a care in the world. And, it was without her.

She snapped her head up, her eyes no longer filled with helplessness and despair. It was determination that she felt. She marched to her closet, picking out one of the dresses Tailor had sewn for her, but she never wore. It was an ankle-length white dress with a draped bodice and a flowing skirt. She locked herself in the bathroom, bringing with her the dress, some leaves, a sewing needle and thread, and some blueberry puree.

She knew that no one expected her to attend, so _she_ couldn't go as Smurfette. Her promise not to marry was far from her mind now; she didn't care. She wanted to dance with Hefty.

* * *

Hefty tried to keep as happy a face as he could, but with Smurfstorm on his arm, it was hard to relax. He was always admittedly a little scared of her, but they got along. He'd been crushed when he learned from Smurfette herself that she wouldn't be going, and he'd made a fool of himself by even thinking to ask her. He was glad that Smurfstorm agreed to go with him; he couldn't miss out on something this important.

He drew in a shaking breath as they neared the clearing, now a colonnade with lanterns and flowers hung from the walls. Smurfmelody and Harmony were already on the stage, entertaining the guests with appropriate tunes. Everyone was either dancing, talking, or trying to keep Greedy away from the refreshments table. Hefty tried to smile, but it was more of a cry for help. Everyone greeted Hefty and Smurfstorm as they entered.

"Hey, Hefty!" Someone from the refreshments table waved him over. Hefty and Stormy followed the voice until the found Handy Smurf drinking some punch. "Smurfy party, huh?"

"Hey, Handy!" Handy held up his fist, to which Hefty gladly bumped. "So, where's the lucky lady? I hope she brought her dancing shoes."

Handy chuckled and blushed. "Well, she doesn't exactly wear shoes."

"Yoo-hoo! Handy!" Handy turned to the nearby stream, where a small mermaid was resting on a rock and blowing him kisses.

"Daughter of the Mer-King," Handy whispered, bouncing his eyebrows. He spun away from the dance floor. "Hey, Marina! Don't you dare smurf without me!"

Smurfstorm smirked. "Well, you all really seem to hit it off with those who aren't like the rest."

"Yeah..." Hefty sighed.

"Hey, look." Stormy turned to meet eye contact. "I know why you really asked me here, and it's cool. But, maybe you show think about enjoying the party. These are your family and friends. I don't think they want to remember you as a sad-sack."

"Um, thanks, I guess," Hefty said, still dejected by the smurf-who-shall-not-be-named. "Do you usually give good pep talks, or just tonight?"

"Don't get used to it," she said.

"STORMY!" A white and pink blur suddenly tackled Smurfstorm, nearly knocking her off-balance. Smurfblossom hugged her friend furiously before letting go. "Isn't this place great? It's so pretty! When do you think the Blue Moon's gonna come? I hope it's soon. I remember what's supposed to happen! I wonder who gets chosen. You think it'll be you guys?"

Hefty and Smurfstorm glanced at each other. "What? No!"

"Oh, come on, you guys. I totally think that, like, your soul," she pointed to Hefty. "and, like, your soul," she pointed to Smurfstorm. "are totally gonna like...mmmmmmMMMMMMM!" She smiled brightly and slowly interlocked her fingers.

"Um, what is...mmmmmmMMMMMMM?" Hefty asked, mimicking Smurfblossom.

Sudden feedback rang in Hefty's ears and everyone turned to the stage, where Brainy stood with a regal-looking scroll. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlesmurfs. It is my pleasure that I, Brainy Smurf, request you all to smurf your heads skyward, as the light of the Blue Moon beams down and selects two lucky Smurfs, binding them together for eternity with its hypnotic, sapphire...smurfdum. Who wrote this?"

Romantic music began to play from the stage as the couples came together to slow dance. Smurfstorm glanced at Hefty and waved, signalling that she'd sit this one out. He was left to wander the dance floor, gazing up as the Blue Moon was coming into view.

...

She was so close. There he was, clad in black and white. She gently pushed her way through the crowd, trying not to muss up her now dark blue locks. She locked eyes on Hefty.

"Hefty!" she whispered loudly.

He couldn't hear her. So she pushed her way closer to him. "Hefty! Hefty!"

...

Hefty continued to wander, trying to see where this supposed beam of blue light would shine down on. He thought he could hear something, someone calling him, from over the music. He was about to turn around when someone grabbed his hand. He flung around and was suddenly in the arms of a gorgeous Smurfette in a Cinderella dress and masquerade mask. A blue haze suddenly flushed over them, and everything was still for a moment.

...

Smurfette's heart pounded in her chest as the blue light shone down over her and Hefty. She couldn't believe it; the Moon had chosen her! She was so shocked she could barely move. Her eyes locked with Hefty's, and she boldly took the lead, gliding Hefty across the dance floor as he stared at her. He seemed entranced by her, his eyes glued to her as she spun them around. A small smile crossed his face, which made her smile in return.

"Hefty..."

"Who are you?" he asked dreamily. "And how did you know my name?"

"It's me," she winked, lifting up her mask for a brief moment. "Smurfette."

He gasped. "Smurfette?! What are you doing here?"

"I-I felt so bad after what had happened," she explained, still dancing. "I knew I couldn't come as myself because of what I said to everyone, but I smurfed in so I could say that I was sorry. I'm sorry, Hefty." He twirled her, her skirt fanning over her legs, until he stopped to dip her. "I do want to dance with you."

He pulled her to her feet, the blue haze fading over them. Hefty took no notice, he only stared at Smurfette. "I can't stay mad at you."

Smurfette giggled, finally relieved to have his forgiveness, and also glad that she finally got to dance with her best friend. Her happiness turned to anxiety as everyone around her began to murmur, asking who she was. She jumped back into Hefty's arms and began dancing him into a bush, despite Hefty's cries against it. Some tried to rush after them. She knew they both couldn't get away.

"Meet me outside the village later." She said quickly before letting go of his hands and dashing into the brush. This was it. Her heart was certain now. She supposed the Moon helped her to see that, but she'd rather think that she did it on her own. There was no other Smurf for her.

* * *

Hefty stood by the lamppost at the east side of the village. It was early in the morning, and everyone (after asking who he was dancing with) had gone to bed. He tapped his foot anxiously, waiting for any sign of Smurfette.

"Hefty."

Her voice came from the path ahead. Through the darkness, he could make out her white dress and blue hair with streaks of blonde from the morning dew. He rushed over to her and took her in his arms.

"Hefty, that was...magical," she whispered into his ear.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to dance with you," he said.

"Hefty..." she pulled away a bit, but not out of reach. "I'm so, _so_ sorry again. What I said, I didn't realize what actually I said before it smurfed to me that...that I..."

He pulled her a little closer. "That you might want someone big and strong in your life."

"Particularly someone who works out," she answered.

"And will do anything for you?"

"As long as I can do what I smurf."

As they exchanged these remarks, they found each other getting closer and closer.

"And..." Hefty continued. "even though this _someone_ smurfed up a few times, and he didn't always understand you at first, he was always willing to be there for you and - "

"Hefty?"

"Yeah?"

"...stop talking." She grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him in. It surprised him at first, but he quickly melted into Smurfette's embrace. Finally, he had what he always wanted.

Meanwhile, as the sun peeked over the horizon, Brainy, Clumsy, and Smurfstorm peeked from behind a hut, spying on the oblivious lovers.

"Well," Brainy said. "It is about time."


	12. Chapter 12

Smurfette's smile never ceased. In fact, it stayed plastered to her face for the rest of the week. Even during the hassle of having to deal with the Smurfs scolding her for not attending. Even when the smurflings had fought over bottle rockets inside their new treehouse. Even when everyone was looking for the mystery Smurfette, or "Smurfarella" as they began calling her. But, that only lasted for the rest of the week.

Hefty came over every night after dark to be with her, so they could be together in peace. She knew it wouldn't last and someone would find out. She figured it was what Hefty was comfortable with, and when they were ready to reveal, they would. For now, she wanted to experiment with having a boyfriend, and she would like it to be kept behind close doors. Literally, behind closed doors.

The new week began with Smurfette waking up, and Hefty was in the chair beside her. She gasped and sat straight up, causing him to jump. She then remembered they'd spent most of the night together.

"You - you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "You didn't do anything stupid last night, right?"

He shook his head. "No, I'd never. You didn't either, right?"

"Oh, smurf no!"

"Okay..." He glanced away, blushing. "Um, Smurfette?"

"Yeah?"

"How much longer do you want to keep this up?"

"Keep what up?"

"Well, I don't exactly want to smurf our relationship a secret. Is there something bothering you about it?"

"No!" she said quickly. "No, this is what I want. I promise."

"You'd tell me if it wasn't, right?"

She nodded and slipped out of bed, slinking over to the chair he sat in. She sat on his lap as she pulled him in. She was so lost she didn't hear the door knock, or the door open.

"Smurfette, I was wondering i - "

Hefty and Smurfette looked up sharply to find Smurfblossom at the open door, her mouth hanging open. Neither of them moved. Smurfblossom's gawk of surprise slowly transformed into a beaming smile. Before Smurfette could stop her, she whirled around, giggling like an idiot, and closed the door behind her. From outside they could hear:

 _"Hefty kissed Smurfette! Hefty kissed Smurfette!"_

Smurfette glanced at Hefty, who had closed the curtains and the blinds. She glanced at her nightgown, and then at the door.

"I am so dead."

* * *

Smurfette hid at the base of a log, her feet dipped in the stream. She'd gotten away just in time. Before five minutes had passed, every Smurf was at her door wanting an explanation. Hefty had escaped in an opposite direction, so it was no telling when he'd arrive. She sighed. She knew why the shard wanted her to bring back the Ball. It knew that it would choose her and Hefty. And, now, after it came true, she'd gone back on a promise made mere weeks ago. Where were her morals?

A rustling came from the bushes. Smurfette huddled into the log to hide until she heard Hefty's voice calling to her. She peeked out and waved him inside.

"That was close," he panted. "I almost got my tail bit off by a chipmunk."

She buried her face in her knees. "I'm such a smurfing idiot! What was I smurfing?"

"Hey, hey," he put his arms around her. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" she snapped. "I had told everyone not two weeks ago that I didn't want to get married or have a relationship. Now, out of nowhere and after I made a smurf of smurfcotting the Blue Moon Ball, I was found kissing the very Smurf who was dancing with the mystery Smurfette at the Ball. And I was in my nightgown, Hefty! My _NIGHTGOWN!"_

She couldn't breathe. The air was now cold and sharp, every breath stinging her lungs like millions of tiny pins. Each breath caused her to shake violently. Hefty's arms were still around her shoulders, holding her tight. She bit back the urge to cry.

"Maybe..." she thought aloud. "Maybe I'm rushing into this." She glanced up at Hefty. He sighed, looking at the ground. "I can still do this if - !"

"No, you don't have to do this for me," he insisted. "This is still your choice. It always has been. If you think we should smurf it easy for a while, then I'll do it. It's your call."

Smurfette took her turn to gaze at the floor. This was a bit uncomfortable, but she loved Hefty. She knew he loved her too, more than anything. It was sweet of him to do what she wanted, trying to be selfless for her. She still wanted to do this with him, though. Part of her was convinced she was doing it to keep him happy, but a larger part of her was saying that it was making her happy.

"Hefty," she began slowly. She nestled her face into his neck. "I don't want what we have to stop. But I also don't want to take this too fast."

She felt him turn his head slightly to kiss her forehead. "Anything for you."

She finally lifted her head, remembering the Village. "What are we going to tell everyone?"

Hefty shrugged. "The truth?"

Smurfette sighed. "What if that gets us into trouble?"

A knock at the log sent them into each other's arms. Then a voice. "I believe we might be able to offer some assistance."

Hefty groaned. "Brainy, get out here already!"

Brainy slipped down from the roof of the log, landing carefully on the wet leaves.

"You too, Clumsy."

A distant yell made Brainy look up, nonchalantly take a step to the right, and sigh. Clumsy sunk into the wet leaves and mud where Brainy had been standing. Although Brainy was still standing, he was covered in mud. Again, he sighed.

"Anyone else?" Smurfette asked.

Smurfstorm calmly stepped up next to Brainy, snorting at his new makeup. She glanced at everyone. "What? Can't I just walk up to you guys like a normal person? Why do we have to just jump down from the sky?"

"How long have you guys known?" Smurfette asked.

"And how long have you been watching us?" Hefty followed up.

"It was kinda obvious," Stormy shrugged. "I mean, come on."

"Is no one going to answer my question?" Hefty asked.

Smurfette stood up. "Okay, what's your plan? You're not going to smurf anything big or elaborate like a skit, are you?"

Brainy gently tucked the script he was pulling out of his satchel back into his bag. "Of course not! Why would you think I would smurf up something so ridiculous?"

Smurfette stared at him, muttering a "mhm."

"Seriously!" Hefty cried. "We've been together for three days. Were you just waiting on this log the whole time?"

Smurfette giggled. "Okay, so what's the real plan?"


	13. Chapter 13

"I hate this plan," Hefty groaned, squatting in the brush. "You said we weren't going to do anything elaborate."

"What's so elaborate about Smurfette, clad in Smurferella dress, being rescued by her Smurf charming and, right as you are confessing, Smurfette reveals herself and you - "

Smurfette helped Hefty out of the brush. "I don't like this either. Why is it that whenever there is romance involved, you guys go all smurf?!"

Brainy shrugged. "It's in our nature, I suppose."

"How could it have been 'in your nature'," Smurfstorm quoted. "when you guys have been living with no one but boys for 1000 years?"

Brainy frowned, jotting more notes onto his pad of paper. "Just going to ignore that."

"Well, I'm not," Smurfette pulled Hefty towards the Village. Hefty looked back nervously at Brainy, Clumsy, and Smurfstorm. Smurfstorm chuckled at Brainy's dumbfounded face as Hetfy turned back to Smurfette.

"Wait, Smurfette." He whirled around to stand in front of her. "Maybe they've got a point. You know that we haven't been...the best when it comes to how romance should go. I may as well remind you that we all instantly, and some quite literally, fell in love with you."

Smurfette sighed. "You don't need to remind me, Hefty. I'm the one who had to smurf through that for more than 20 years." That got Smurfette thinking: if it had been that long, then why did it seem like Gargamel and Azrael never aged?

"I know, but we get carried away."

Smurfette chuckled a little. "Hefty, I've seen every cheesy and romantic gesture you guys have smurfed at me. I've seen Handy smurf those rose-colored glasses so that I'd fall in love with him. I've seen Brainy, Painter, and Handy try to catch a bog goblin to impress me. I've seen you and Handy fight over me when I was intoxicated by that enchanted flower."

"Yeah, yeah. Handy did a lot before he met Marina - I think you've made your point!" Hefty dismissed.

"Come on," she continued, walking back towards the village. "I've seen everything. How much farther could you guys possibly smurf?"

Her answer came when she turned around. Rose petals scattered across the paths, everything was decorated with white streamers and Smurfette could make out a crowd surrounding a stage. She sighed.

"Okay, _now_ I've seen everything."

Hefty followed after her, cringing at the shear awkwardness of the situation. "Okay, I was expecting something big, but not this big!"

Smurfette sighed again and marched toward the crowd. Hefty frantically followed after her, afraid that she might embarrass herself. Jeez, she was fast when she was angry.

 _She is awesome like that,_ he thought.

Smurfette had felt angrier than when she'd gone up against Gargamel. Well, maybe not that angry, but close enough. What was wrong with them? Smurfblossom finds them kissing, and now immediately they're getting married? What sort of mindset do they have?

Everyone was either giggling or crying, which was to be expected. She didn't get a single word in before they saw her, which was also expected. What she didn't expect would be the number of Smurfs swarmed around her, and inevitably Hefty. She had never been so cramped.

"En-Eno-ENOUGH!"

The crowd went silent as she screamed out.

"Thank you! Now, please, before we go any further: WHAT THE SMURF IS GOING ON HERE?!"

The smurfette who hadn't really stopped talking answered her first. "Um, it's your wedding, DUH! I mean, what'd you think it was? A birthday party? If it was my birthday, I'd wanna get married."

"Smurfblossom - "

"You said you didn't wanna get married, but we knew better. We knew you wouldn't be able to stay away for long. And I knew you'd come to the Ball. I just knew you would!"

"Can I please say something?"

"And, if you weren't gonna see it, then we sure did! You and Hurty are going to just be great together!"

"You're really adding insult to injury here, so just STOP!" Smurfette fumed, wanting at least one letter out of her mouth to be heard. "I'm still not marrying."

Everyone in the crowd put on a mask of disappointment, except Grouchy, who was already in the process of throwing away a bouquet of roses. She'd worry about that later, but now...

"I don't expect you to understand, because I barely understand. But I do understand that you have to wait. I don't want to marry, and then find out that he isn't the right one." She glanced back at Hefty, who nodded sympathetically. "So, for now, can we just smurf back to somewhat normal?"

She waited for their response, which took a bit longer than she felt was alright. Half the crowd finally nodded in agreement.

"So, no more big surprises?"

They nodded.

"No smurfing to conclusions?"

They nodded.

"Good!" With this relief, Smurfette took Hefty by the shoulders and kissed him.

Hefty flushed. "Smurfette!"

"Now, if you'll excuse us..."

She took Hefty's hand to turn around, but Smurfblossom appeared in front of them.

"I still have questions! Why were you Smurferella? I mean, it's obvious now that you were her, but why? And how long has this been going on? Does that mean you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend? Do you think you might get married one day? How many kids would you - "

Oh, Smurfs! She couldn't handle a curveball like that. She took Smurfblossom by the shoulders and spun her around.

"Did you know that Clumsy and Smurflily are together?" Smurfette asked.

She tried to ignore Clumsy and Lily's blushing faces as she finally made her escape. Brainy glared after Smurfette and Hefty as they turned the corner, but was interrupted by a tug to the arm.

"Hey-ya, Brainy? What's shaking? What's happenin'? What's the word, BOI?!"

Brainy forced a smile.

* * *

Smurfette shut and locked the door to her house and collapsed on the bed. A weight had been lifted off of her chest; that madness was somewhat over. Hefty sat at the foot of the bed.

"Think that worked?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Probably not, but at least I can smurf at night knowing all that is over with."

Hefty chuckled. "Same. Although, I'm not really sure where to smurf from here."

She shook her head. "Let's just smurf it day by day."

Hefty smirked and pulled her into his lap. She giggled as he leaned down for another kiss.


	14. Chapter 14

_Smurfette rested on the side of a hill, watching the sunrise. The flower buds were just beginning to open. Everything was peaceful. She closed her eyes, soaking in the calm atmosphere._

 _"Smurfette!"_

 _She peeked between her eyelids. She couldn't see anyone. She sat up and peered over her shoulder. At the edge of the forest stood a tall, young Smurf. She squinted. He looked just like Hefty, but Hefty never wore leather. She stood up._

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Smurfette!" he called._

 _"Who are you?" she asked. He didn't answer. He held out his hand to her. "I won't come unless you tell me your name!"_

 _He stared at her, his hand still outstretched. He suddenly whipped his head around and dashed back into the forest. Smurfette knitted her eyebrows. She pondered if she should follow him. But she knew better than to follow strange Smurfs into the dark forest. She turned and started the other way down the hill. Not two steps down, she spotted another figure. She was smaller, with tawny blonde hair and a white cloak._

 _The little smurfette peered up at Smurfette and gasped. Smurfette also gasped, surprised at the sudden movement. Unlike the Smurf before her, she didn't hesitate to run. Smurfette began to start after her._

 _"Wait!" she called. The little girl didn't stop and disappeared into the bushes. The sky suddenly grew dark, hard rain beating down. Smurfette slowly turned and looked up. She screamed._

* * *

"Smurfette!"

Smurfette bolted upright to someone knocking at her door. Hefty had left the night before, so Smurfette was alone. She threw herself out of bed and answered the door.

"Brainy? What's the matter? What time is it?"

"No more questions!" he interjected. "Get dressed and smurf to my hut immediately."

"Brainy, what?" The sun wasn't up yet.

"You are absosmurfly right! No time for clothes!" He grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her down the path to his hut. Smurfette blew the hair out of her face as he closed the door.

"Brainy, you better have a darn good explanation for this!" She glanced around the room, finding Hefty on a stool. He shrugged. Smurfblossom stood in the corner, her mouth covered in honey. She wasn't talking, so it could be assumed it was because of the honey.

"Smurfette, you and Hefty being the first couple in 1000 years means the phenomenon of natural reproduction."

Smurfette threw up her hands and turned on her heels. "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! NO!"

Hefty rested his face on his hand, his eyes drooping. "I have to agree with her on this. This does seem a bit weird..." he trailed off as he began to fall asleep. A cold rush of water snapped him awake. "Gosh-smurf-it! That's the twenty-seventh time!"

Smurfette rubbed her eyes. "Brainy, I'm tired. Why are you up this early anyway?"

"I wanted to reach the both of you before the storm hit. A very volatile one is smurfing towards the Village as we smurf." The sound of snoring made Brainy pick up the pail again. "And, being that this is not a term I have taken the smurf to document, it should come to a logical conclusion that we should start research as soon as possible. Under these particular circumstances, around 4 AM."

He splashed the remainder of the pail at Hefty, who fell out of his seat. Brainy shook the bucket to check the remaining drops.

"Smurfblossom, would you be so kind as to smurf some more water?"

Smurfblossom mumbled through the honey on her mouth, nodded, and took the bucket. She ran out the door and down the dark path. A few droplets of rain were lightly falling.

Smurfette continued. "Brainy, we're not even married. What makes you think we're going to smurf kids any time soon? And how would that even work?"

"Firstly, I have no idea. And secondly, who smurfed under the Blue Moon?"

Smurfette's face fell into her hand. "Well, now that we're here, can we at least smurf the night and smurf with this in the morning?"

Brainy opened his mouth to say something, most likely a rebuttal. But paused, glanced away from her for a moment, and closed his mouth. He quickly uttered the word "yes" under his breath. Smurfette sighed in relief, trudging towards the linen closet. She took out a pillow and a few blankets, set them over by Hefty, and laid them out. She draped a blanket over Hefty before settling down beside him. Brainy rolled his eyes and went back to his work desk.

"Smurfette?" Hefty whispered. "You still awake?"

"No."

"I'm kind of uncomfortable with this."

"Me too, but it's not like we're going anywhere."

Hefty shrugged. "I guess you're right. But I'm not letting him smurf around with our bodies, smurfing for something that makes us guinea pigs."

Smurfette chuckled. "Let's just go back to sleep."

Her head drooped into his chest, and she fell asleep.

* * *

Not five minutes later, someone shook Smurfette's shoulder. She shooed them away, but they were persistent. She peeked through her eyelids. Brainy and Hefty stood wide awake over her, calling her name frantically.

"What, what?"

"Smurfette, get up! No time for questions! Get up!"

Brainy yanked her to her feet, pulling her towards the door.

"Brainy, I swear!"

The door flew open, Smurflily's soaked face peeking in. She was gasping for air. "Guys, come on!"

Smurfette was awake now, seeing that this wasn't one of Brainy's crazy episodes of experimenting. This was serious. Without thinking, she ran out the door with Smurflily. Her clothes soaked to her skin in seconds. Everyone was running around with lanterns and umbrellas.

"Lily, what's going on?!"

"Brainy came yelling for help after Smurfblossom didn't come back. With this storm, I think it's possible she got caught out in the forest."

"Why didn't she use the well?" Smurfette asked, pointing to the well in the middle of the village.

"Smurfblossom kept throwing coins in it!"

Smurfette moaned in frustration. If she hadn't gone to the well, the only other place she'd go to was the creek. And with the rain pouring down - !

Smurfette raced through the mud and water into the forest, trying not to fear the worst. She could hear the rushing of the creek up ahead, as well as footsteps in the mud behind her. She ran to the bridge - Where was the bridge? The creek had risen a full foot, rushing at speeds even Hefty couldn't keep up with. She ran downstream, trying to find any sign of Smurfblossom. She called out her name.

Frantically, she scanned the rushing waters. She slid down a bit, trying to avoid the current. An object in the mud almost made her trip. She dug through the watery dirt and pulled out Brainy's pail. Her face went powder blue. She climbed back up the ravine and sprinted down the river. She was shaking with fear and cold. Her friend was missing, hurt or possibly dead and she couldn't find her!

A piece of peach fabric flashed her vision. At the bottom of the ravine, stuck to a branch, was Smurfblossom's still, limp body face-down in the water.

Smurfette screamed, alerting the others who had followed close behind. As soon as the first smurf came within arm's reach, she grabbed his wrist and flung herself into the ravine. She jerked to a halt as those who had followed built a chain to lower her down. Smurfette reached out her arm, trying to reach her friend. She strained so hard, she thought her arm would pop out of its socket.

"Just a little further!" she shouted. She inched forward, the rushing waters coming bare inches away from her. She strained and stretched until she finally grabbed Smurfblossom by the collar. She yanked her out of the water, slung her over her shoulder, and turned back up to her friends.

"Pull us up!"

Slowly, Smurette felt herself jerk upwards. She clung to Smurfblossom until they both made it onto stable ground. She laid her down, leaning over her face.

"She's not breathing. SHE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Someone shoved her from her friend's body and began pressing himself into Smurfblossom with his hands. Brainy, of all people, leaned over Smurfblossom's body, pressing his mouth over hers. Smurfette gawked, not sure what to make of this. Smurflily rummaged through a bush. Hefty held Snappy Bug in his hand, flashing pictures every time Brainy went to "kiss" Blossom. Smurfette snatched the ladybug away from him as Smurflily ran back over to them with two fuzzy caterpillars. She rubbed them vigorously against each other, making them spark with the static. She held them up.

"CLEAR!"

She pressed them into Smurfblossom's chest. Blossom suddenly gasped, coughing and choking. She sat up slowly, moaning. Smurflily patted her back as she coughed.

"What happened?" Blossom asked, gasping for air.

Hefty smiled, trying to suppress a laugh, as he held up a leaf with Brainy doing mouth to mouth. Brainy sprang up and tore up the leaf, fuming. Hefty held up several copies, laughing.

"Blackmail."

Smurfblossom blushed, giggling. Smurflily pulled her sister onto her back, carrying her.

"Let's get you back home."

They all started towards the village, away from the rushing river. Smurfette hugged her shoulders, shivering. Hefty wrapped one arm around her, leading her back with the rest. She turned her head away, attempting to process what had happened. It had happened so fast. The bucket, the rushing water, Blossom snagged on the branch. She was angry that Hefty had been so immature as to take photos of Brainy and Smurflily saving her best friend's life., but she was in too much shock to really be mad. She buried her head into Hefty's shoulder, sobbing. Hefty held her as the rain slowed.


	15. Chapter 15

Smurfette sat in Brainy's hut, a blanket draped over her shoulders while she sipped on some tea. She was in more shock than Smurfblossom was supposed to be. Perhaps Blossom didn't understand the gravity of the situation: that she had died. Smurfette shouldn't have felt any guilt. She wasn't even _directly_ responsible (if anything, it was Brainy's fault). But seeing her limp body face-down in the creek, the bucket buried in the mud. She felt so heavy when she dragged her out, and she wasn't breathing and...

Smurfette cried into her knees.

"Smurfette..." A hand settled on her shivering shoulder. Hefty knelt down to hug her. "Smurfette, it's alright. Smurfblossom's going to be just fine."

She wiped her face. "I know but...but...I just can't stop smurfing about her and what happened. It's like it's smurfed to the inside of my eyelids; I can't get it out!"

"Smurfette, it's not - " Hefty began.

"Imagine if it were _me,_ Hefty!" Smurfette snapped. Hefty let out a small gasp. "Imagine if it were _me_ that Brainy had smurfed out and it was _me_ who nearly drowned out there. How would you feel if you saw someone you deeply cared about...lifeless?" She couldn't bear to say 'dead'. "How would you feel if you thought that one of your closest friends was gone forever?"

Hefty furrowed his brow, clenching his fist. "Smurfette...I know more than you think I do."

Smurfette blinked, the memories coming back. "Oh...right... Hefty, I - "

"Look, I don't want to talk about it," he sighed. "But I do know how it feels."

Smurfette was about to apologize when the door flung open. Brainy slammed the door behind him, dropping his rain gear on the floor. "Urgent message from Papa Smurf and Smurfwillow! The storm is calming, but due to flooding everyone is being smurfed to stay right where they are."

"That means we could be smurfed here together for days!" Smurfette cried.

"Oh, Lord Smurfs!" Hefty cursed. Brainy raised his eyebrows at him. "P-Please protect us...and smurf over us in this our hour of need."

Brainy threw his hands up in frustration. He dragged away a rug from beneath him, opened a hatch, and disappeared inside. The two remaining stared at the spot in silence.

"So that's why he keeps that horrible rug."

* * *

Three days they were stuck in Brainy's hut. And, though Brainy did his best not to do any weird experiments on them, Hefty swore that his ear felt unusually fuzzy when he woke up one morning. Smurfette stretched, popping her back after sleeping on the floor. She quietly crept over to the pantry to find something to eat, but Brainy was already there.

She sighed. "Yes, Brainy?"

"Please, just one smurfy, tiny experiment?"

"Please, just one smurfy, tiny favor?" she imitated his question. He nodded. "How about I don't?" She stepped to the side to push her way past, but Brainy once again blocked her. "Brainy, honestly! I've gone through so much in the past few weeks. Can I please smurf one week without something crazy or dangerous or just downright weird?!"

She awaited his answer, breathing heavily. She felt her eyebrow twitch, which meant she was getting particularly stressed.

"If I say yes, will you stop making that look?"

She huffed and finally shoved him aside, grabbing some blueberries.

"Smurfette, please."

"Please, what? Make me a test dummy? Couldn't you do this on someone else?"

Brainy pulled open the blinds, revealing the still flooded street. Clumsy floated past on a piece of driftwood tied to Smurflily paddling along in a canoe. Smurfette gawked.

"The worst part is that it's working," Clumsy said before Brainy closed the blinds.

Smurfette groaned. "Fine, what is it you want me to do?"

* * *

She sat on a stool, immediately regretting her decision. Brainy stood behind her with one of his crazy contraptions.

"So, you've been complaining of several nightmares preceding the past events."

"Yeah?"

"So, if I may access your brainwaves, we might be able to smurf where this negativity is coming from."

"Is this going to be weird?"

"No!" he said defensively. He rounded her, showing the absurd-looking glove-like devices on his hands. He clapped them together like pincers. "Okay. I'm going to smurf these finger nodules all over your head and face."

She furrowed her brow. "So, what _would_ be weird to you?"

Brainy simply chuckled. He activated something from behind her and she tensed when the round, glossy ends of the gloves pressed against her skin.

"Now," he began. "Think of your nightmares!"

"Nightmares..." she repeated.

"The night of the storm!" He circled his hand over the top of his head.

"Night of the storm..."

"When Smurfblossom nearly drowned in the river!" He ran his fingers up her cheeks, shutting her eyes.

"In the river..."

"What was your dream?" He massaged her forehead.

"Two smurfs...one boy, one girl..."

"Who were they?"

"I have no clue..." Her speech was muffled by his mushing into her cheeks.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No..."

"Did they want to mate with you?" He ran the nodes through her hair.

"You said this wouldn't get weird."

Brainy finally took his hands off of Smurfette's head and turned to a whirring printer. The printer spat out a parchment with printed text. Smurfette shuddered, trying to shake the utter awkwardness of the situation off of her.

"So what's it say?"

"Well, I'm smurfing a lot insecurity." She rolled her eyes. "Let's see... _This is weird...I wish he'd stop...Where's Hefty?..._ Whoa!"

She jumped up and peered over his shoulder. "What? What is it?"

"There seems to bit some sort of radiation emitting from the hippocampi. How it got there is beyond me, but why it's there is probably something a bit more important right now."

"Do you think it's from the Blue Moon?"

"Possibly," Brainy shrugged. "But if that were the case, I'd have to consult Hefty and smurf the same analysis on him. How or when or if I'll get him to agree to that could take a while to figure out."

A knock at the door startled them both. Brainy set the parchment down and answered the door. Smurfstorm stood outside, the street now thick mud.

"The flood's been somewhat contained, but it's safe to walk outside now. I suggest you put on some rain boots." She peeked it, waved to Smurfette, and trudged back down the path. Brainy slammed the door.

"I'm going to wake Hefty and let him know," said Smurfette, slipping into a dress behind one of Brainy's safety barriers. "If you smurf any results from Hefty, let me know?"

Brainy nodded and proceeded to his library. She sighed, glad that nonsense was over. It wasn't exactly necessary. If anything, it was a bit insensitive. But she knew Brainy just couldn't help himself. She was curious though. Did her recent nightmare somehow foretell Smurfblossom's near-death experience? Or was it try to warn her of something to come? She could still hear the young Smurf's voice from her dream. He had sounded like Hefty, but he was much too small to be. The intensity in the eyes of the little Smurfette she'd seen was stifling. She looked to be in so much pain, so much fear, and yet with so much love behind them.

What was this coming to?


	16. Chapter 16

A few weeks after the flood passed with no incident. Smurfette tried going about life as normal. It did, except for the occasional mention of her relationship with Hefty. It was starting to become less annoying as it was mentioned less and less. She smirked whenever she happened to spy Smurflily holding hands with Clumsy, and a certain bubbly smurfette would never leave Brainy's side. It was remarkable how Smurfblossom was dealing with the situation. She wasn't shocked at all. In fact, it was only more reason for her to follow Brainy everywhere.

It was also more reason to go to Hefty for consolation. As much as she hated to admit, she'd been horrified and hadn't been able to sleep well because of it. He'd offered to sleep with her, but she declined. She didn't want to have to constantly depend on him, and she didn't want something to go too far. Although, sometimes, she couldn't help herself.

She'd gotten up one particular night about a week after the storm. The sky was clear with the moon shining brightly down on her. It shone right in her face. She dragged herself out of bed, snatched a lantern from outside her front door, and walked down the deserted street towards Hefty's house. She knocked lightly, trying not to wake anyone else. She was about to give up after about ten minutes of knocking, but the door finally opened.

"Smurfette...?"

"Sorry, Hefty," she whispered. "I'll leave you alone."

"No, no. What's wrong?"

"I can't sleep. Can...can I sleep with you?"

Hefty immediately stepped aside to let her in. She trudged in, turning off the lantern. Hefty set the barbel from his bed on the floor and settled under the covers. Smurfette slid in next to him, snuggling into his chest. She could have sworn that she heard him say something, but she was too tired. She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat as she drifted off.

* * *

Summer turned to autumn. The leaves began to turn gold and orange, Farmer was harvesting large crops such as pumpkins and squash, and decorations for Halloween were being set up even though it was the beginning of September. It was also getting colder. She huddled into her jacket as she and Hefty took a walk together through the forest. It was peaceful, quite the contrast from what had transpired the last few weeks before. She was happy with moments like these. Just her and Hefty.

Smurfette sat in the branches of a small tree while Hefty was peeling off the dead bark from the trunk.

"What are you doing?" she called down.

He turned up to look at her. "I thought you might want a fresh smurfboard for when spring comes."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. It had been a while since they did that. She'd been so distracted lately what with chores and get-togethers with friends and Hefty. It was a welcomed distraction, but she missed the little moments. She grabbed a leaf from the branch she sat on and glided down to meet him.

"Why wait until spring?" She took the board from his hands and ran towards their usual spot. He called out after her playfully. She laughed and slowed down knowing Hefty would inevitably catch up with her. Her prediction came true as she heard the rapid footfalls behind her. He called out again, his voice much closer. She slid under a tree root until she finally stopped under a large maple.

"What smurfed you so long?" she teased, receiving a nudge on the shoulder. She hoisted herself up the tree trunk and climbed up the thick wood. Once she reached the canopy, she gazed out onto the horizon as she had done the last time she went smurfboarding with Hefty.

She remembered that day. That day had marked such a pivotal moment in her life. It was when she first learned Hefty loved her, where she began her endeavor to search for answers. The sky had been so blue, not a cloud in the sky. Now it was gray. Cold, endless clouds overcast the sky. She wished it could have been blue today. It would have made it a happier occasion.

"Smurfette?"

She blinked. "Huh wha?"

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Just lost in thought."

She hitched up her smurfboard and nodded to her boyfriend. "Ready?"

He winked at her, making her a bit uncomfortable. He chuckled a 'sorry' and said he was ready. She threw down her board and jumped on, speeding down the tree. The wind felt so good on her face. Colder than when she had last boarded, but exhilarating nonetheless. She glanced at Hefty doing a backwards ollie as he jumped over a knot in the branch. She decided to have a bit of fun and show him up a bit. She veered to the right and disappeared into the leaves, leaving his sight for a split second. She twisted through the branches until she soared off the end of the branch. She flipped a few times before landing in front of Hefty, smirking at his dumbfounded face as she boarded backwards.

She giggled. She suddenly yelped as the ground was pulled from under her feet and she felt herself plummeting down a different branch. The leaves brushed past her and she tried to keep control. But the branch was getting thinner. Seeing no other option, she jumped from her board into the leaves and was met with her chest to the branch. She slid off, too stunned to grab a leaf from one of the branches. She braced for the impact of the ground, but was greeted by something that felt more like matted fur. She finally hit the ground and groaned.

She rose to her knees and looked over her shoulder to see what animal she landed on. She gasped. It was no animal.

It was a human child, around twelve years old. He had matted red hair with a blue hat. He was short with a pudgy face like a chipmunk with short, skinny limbs. He groaned with a raspy, squeaky puberty voice.

"Hey! Who's the wiseguy!?"

He turned his head around and set his eyes on Smurfette. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the boy. An uncomfortable silence settled over them before the boy spoke.

"You're a smurf, right?"

She nodded.

"And, smurfs come during the Blue Moon, right?"

She raised her eyebrow and nodded.

She screamed.

His fingers clenched around her waist as he snatched her off the ground and took off into the forest. She yelled for help, for Hefty.

"Quit your yelling!" the boy snapped, slowing down enough to shake her about. "You should save your voice when you get your blue stuff sucked out by - Oof!"

Smurfette flew from his hold and landed hard on the forest floor. Again she wondered what happened, but someone took her hand and began dragging her to her feet.

"Smurfette!" Hefty yelled. "Run!"

At his voice, she scrambled to her feet and charged in front of him, dragging him into a bush. Hefty peeked through the brush, but quickly covered the hole. The boy's feet crushed the nearby leaves as he passed the bush. She huddled into Hefty's shoulder, waiting for the boy to go away. After what felt like an eternity, he finally left.

Smurfette could breathe again. Hefty peeked back out the leaves and sighed in relief.

"He's gone. Who the smurf was that?"

"I have no idea," she trembled. "But he almost reminded me of - "

"It's okay," he said. "Let's go back to the village. We can tell Papa and Willow about this."

Thoughts raced in her head. This was bad! This was very bad! Gargamel was gone, but now there was this new...new... _person_ trying to capture them all over again.


	17. Chapter 17

Smurfette paced inside Papa's hut. She'd refused to attend the meeting, much to a few Smurfs' complaint. She didn't care. She didn't want to be part of a search to hunt down a second Gargamel. She wanted Hefty to stay with her, but he was needed as a witness. She tugged at her hair.

"This is so unfair!" she ranted to herself. "I finally get some smurf and quiet for once in my life. Is that too much to ask? Apparently it is, because wherever we smurf up, whatever we do, there's some new wizard out to get us!"

She inhaled deeply, trying not to let the memories flood back in.

"Gargamel is gone," she repeated. "Gargamel is gone!"

She tried to focus on something else. The nightmares she'd had before the flood inadvertently came back. Before the end, it was actually rather pleasant, if not strange. Those two smurfs were warmly familiar. They seemed to glow in her eyes. She inexplicably felt her heart warm at the thought of those two. Then came confusion. Why was she seeing and feeling these things that didn't exist?

She huddled herself into the corner with a blanket just as word came of Hefty's return. She couldn't bear to hear the news.

* * *

"His name is Scruple," Papa explained.

Smurfette sat beside Hefty, Smurfstorm, Brainy, Smurfwillow, and Smurfblossom gathered to listen. Smurfblossom gasped.

"Oh no! I think I heard Baker and Gerdy hiding him somewhere!"

Smurfstorm groaned, looking ready to choke someone. "Not strudel, Smurfblossom. Scruple!"

"Right..." Papa continued. "Former apprentice to Gargamel."

Smurfette flinched. "Gargamel?!"

Smurfstorm readied her bow. Smurfwillow held her arm.

"Now, let's not smurf to any conclusions," Papa assured. "Just because Scruple was apprenticed to Gargamel, it doesn't not mean Gargamel is back."

Smurfette still shook with fear. Hefty held her to him, trying to assure her. Her trembling stopped, but not her fear.

"What do we do?" Blossom asked.

Papa glanced at Willow, then Smurfette. He knew of her intense fear of Gargamel, even though she had the courage to save them all. She never wanted to experience such a thing again, thinking everyone she loved had lost her.

"Brainy, smurf an immediate lockdown."

Brainy dropped his notepad and pencil. "Papa, a-are you sure that is necessary?"

"Isn't it?!" Smurfette snapped.

"What I mean is, we never needed a lockdown," Brainy explained. "We've had hundreds of incidents and smurfless enemies, but none have ever reached the village... Right?"

"But we know nothing about this woodchuck," Smurfstorm cut it. "Who's to say he hasn't found the village already?"

"Calm yourself, Smurfstorm," Papa interjected. "Only Smurfs and forces of nature can smurf into the village. Which is why we need to smurf put for the time being."

"B-B-But...Papa!" Brainy argued. "What about - "

"What about NOTHING!" Smurfette snapped. "Papa said, so we smurf what he says."

Hefty held to her shoulders, gently pulling her back. "Smurfette, it's okay."

Papa stared expectantly at Brainy. He finally sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Alright. I'll smurf the word."

"Thank you," Papa said. "Smurfstorm, you smurf with Brainy. Hefty, take Smurfette home."

Hefty lifted Smurfette by the shoulders and led her outside. She stared at the ground as he turned in the direction of her house. How could they be against the lockdown? It was for their safety! Stupid Brainy and his stupid glasses and stupid brain...

"Are you okay?"

Smurfette fumed. "How could Brainy say that?! Doesn't he know what Gargamel has done?"

"Smurfette, this isn't Gargamel. This is someone newer, maybe even smarter." He stopped for a minute in thought. "No, definitely smarter and that is not smurfing much."

"I know this isn't Gargamel. And I know that he's someone newer and smarter. That's why we _have_ to be cautious!"

"Smurfette, we have everything taken care of!"

Smurfette wiggled out of Hefty's grasp. "You underestimate our enemies, Hefty Smurf."

"Smurfette," Hefty asserted. "There's something else smurfing on here, isn't there?"

"I just wish you and everyone else would smurf this a little more seriously," she grumbled.

"Does it look like I'm smurfing around?" Hefty asked sarcastically. "Smurfette, don't be afraid - "

"Sometimes you _have to_ be afraid!" she barked.

Hefty flinched, his brow furrowing. He looked like he was ready to snap right back, or even yell at her. It wouldn't be the first time now, but she knew she was right. In the end though, he sighed angrily.

"What happened to the Smurfette who wasn't afraid of anything?" he asked.

She blinked, stunned at the emotion in his voice. Anger, mixed with heartbreak. She lowered her head with her face still determined. He slowly turned and walked into the darkness, leaving Smurfette in front of her house. After Hefty was out of sight, she whirled around, slamming her front door shut, and collapsed on the bed. Hot, angry tears poured down her face and onto the pillow.

How could he understand? He could never understand! She had undergone so much pain. He had no idea what she had felt: alone, without belonging, her very existence with them merely a joke. All she wanted was to find some answers, thinking it would bring her peace. She pressed her face into the pillow, realizing that all that had gotten her was pain.

* * *

Hefty gritted his teeth against his emotions. He didn't expect Smurfette to understand. She had never really been the same since she became a real _real_ Smurf. That didn't mean he loved her any less. But to watch her so defeated broke his heart. He loved her adventurous spirit, her kindness, her undying loyalty to her friends. But when he looked into her eyes mere minutes ago, all he could see was a lost soul. He couldn't see his Smurfette.

"I want you back, Smurfette."

 _I'll get her back,_ he promised himself. _She's still in there. I know she is._

 ** _Hey yall! Sorry about the late postings. Writers block and school work were messing with my schedule. Plus I had gone to Florida and my mother was insistent that I didn't take my laptop. I was also very willing, don't judge me. Posts should be coming a bit more regularly from now on._**

 ** _Thank you for all the positive reviews! 3_**


	18. Chapter 18

Lockdown began with nearly no problems. Smurfette had smirked to herself the first few days. No one left the Village, Farmer was providing food, and no one seemed particularly fazed. Hefty on the other hand had objected to her, what seemed to him as, childish behavior. She noticed every time they spent time together, being rather aloof and distant.

 _Whatever_ , she thought. _If he wants to pout about it, I won't stop him._

He stared at her as she passed by, not even giving him the time of day to say hello to her. What was her problem? Was it such a big deal? She was being so paranoid and it concerned him. Now she was avoiding him. He thrust his fist into a nearby wall, the barbel in his hand creating a small crater.

"HEY!"

Hefty glanced up at Handy, his hammer on the ground as he glowered at him.

"Sorry, Handy."

Handy sighed exasperatedly. "It's fine. Just another broken piece of smurf I have to deal with now that this lockdown started."

"Again, sorry."

Handy yanked a bag of hard plaster from the hut. "Who smurfed in your oatmeal this morning?"

Hefty groaned. "Smurfette is being so...so... _difficult!"_

Handy dumped the plaster into a bucket. "How so?"

"Oh, where do I start?" Hefty asked, flailing his arms around. Handy held his trowel up to shield his face from the barbel. "She is being so insistent about this lockdown smurf. I know it's for our safety, and I know we have no idea who this strudel - er - strussel - or _whatever_ he's called! But it's like she's smurfed a ghost. I don't get it!"

"Well," Handy said, dumping some water into the bucket. "How scared is she?"

"Take Paranoid Smurf two steps outside."

" _Really?!"_ Handy exclaimed. Hefty nodded. "You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not! Well, maybe a little. But that is not the point!"

Handy flinched as the barbel came a inch to his face. "Dude! Put that thing down!"

Hefty dropped the barbel, nearly falling onto Handy's foot. He jumped out of the way and grunted in disapproval. "Have you ever considered that maybe she's dealing with some inner smurfs? She was bubbly and wild and smurfy a week ago. What happened?"

Hefty scooped up a pebble with his toe, kicking it into his hand. "That stupid kid came along." He tossed the pebble into the road, a dust cloud swirling in the wind. "She says we underestimate our enemies."

Handy scooped some plaster onto the wall. "She's smurfed up bad too, huh?" Hefty nodded. "Maybe you should talk about what happened."

"When she turned back into...?" Handy nodded. "You know I can't."

"You're just going to ignore it for the rest of your life?"

"Yes."

Handy sighed. "Looks like you both have some problems you need to smurf with. But, I'll say this once, Hefty: if you have a problem with Smurfette, you smurf it out with Smurfette. Because, this is how much I care about petty arguing."

He pulled his hat over his head and began blowing raspberries for a good minute until he stopped.

"Message received," Hefty admitted in defeat.

* * *

Hefty glanced over at her just sitting on a bench. She sat staring straight ahead, not looking at anything in particular. He slowly inched his way over to her, trying not to make her leave. He slid onto the bench, barely sitting on the rim. He crept along the bench, closer and closer until there was an inch (human inch) between them. They didn't speak at all. Nothing happened until Hefty glanced at her slightly.

"I haven't changed, Hefty."

"What?"

"I haven't changed at all," she clarified.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you, Smurfette," he said quietly. "You haven't been smurfing like yourself lately."

"You're wrong," she retorted. "But apparently you've been telling others otherwise."

"Smurfette, listen!" he ordered, his tone harsh and demanding. "I don't know what you've heard or what's going on with you, but I don't want this to continue! I love you, Smurfette. Don't ever doubt that for a second. But, I can't do this."

"Do what?! You don't understand!"

"You say that ALL THE TIME!" he snapped. "I know you're scared! We're all scared in here! That's why we can't step two smurfs out of the village! But help me understand what is it that you're afraid of."

She turned away from him, her arms folded over her chest.

"Well, tell me."

She held to her arms.

"Smurfette, please tell me!"

"...Gargamel."

He knitted his brow. "Gargamel?"

She nodded.

"But, Smurfette we've - "

"I know!" she interrupted. "We've seen him so many times, we've foiled his plans so many times! I've smurfed him away from us forever! But, he's a part of me."

He inched closer to her, hesitantly resting his hand on her arm. "What do you mean?"

"He created me. He guided me through my first days on earth. He was my father, in a way. I tried so hard not to be like him, to never think about him again. But even after becoming a real Smurf, I can still feel him within me.

She peered over her shoulder. "...he haunts me, Hefty. I've seen what almost happened, and how it was my fault." She shook her head. "I can't let that happen again. I can't put you all in danger."

Hefty sighed. "Smurfette..." He pulled her to face him. "You can't change how you feel. But if you act like this, it only smurfs matters worse." She huffed, tugging at her hair. "All I want is that kind, fun-loving, slightly crazy Smurfette to help me through this, because I hate this lockdown as much as Brainy does. Please?"

She shot him a glance, his large eyes begging to her. She moaned before leaning back on the bench. "Fine. I'll try my best not to be afraid, but I still want everyone to accept the lockdown."

"No promises." Hefty kissed her cheek. "You want to smurf by Chef's for some pumpkin-spiced coffee?"

She shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'm still mad at you though."

* * *

Smurfette sipped at her coffee. She could feel Hefty's worried gaze on her, but she tried not to mind. She was still miffed that Hefty would even think not to take this seriously. He still didn't know what could happen. But she missed him, and it wasn't like she could avoid him forever. A gust of wind blew her hair into her face, flying into her mouth. She spat out her hair, making Hefty chuckle.

"Shut up," she said playfully.

Hefty chugged down the last of his latte. "What do you think Chef puts in these that makes them _so_ good?"

"Pumpkin," Smurfette guessed. "and...spice?"

She and Hefty laughed when Chef approached their table. "Having a good time?"

"Great," Smurfette replied.

"Oh, Chef. Could I get another pumpkin-spiced smurfaccino to go?" Hefty asked.

"I...got to see if we have enough," Chef said.

Hefty glanced at Smurfette. "What do you mean you might not have enough? You always have enough? Not enough pumpkin spice? What?"

"Well, you see...Farmer's produce has stopped coming in."

"What?" Smurfette gazed at Hefty with worry.

Chef nodded. "It's true. Pumpkins and apples and all the other autumn crops are withering faster. I'm scrambling to get enough pumpkin spice to smurf until November."

"But why?" Hefty asked. "It's barely October."

Chef shrugged. "I'm not Mother Nature, so I cannot say. But, with sales going up, I have to get back to work. When the temperature drops, business hops. Hey, I should use that." He repeated the phrase as he left their table.

"Hefty, this is what I was talking about!" Smurfette exclaimed. "That Scruple kid is smurfing with the weather."

Hefty had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. She wasn't going to give up, was she? But, he had to say something.

"Maybe Mother Nature has a cold or something."

Smurfette raised an eyebrow. "Hefty, be reasonable."

 _The smurf is calling the blueberry blue, Smurfette,_ he thought. He did find it rather suspicious that it would be snowing this early in the year. Maybe Smurfette was right in a way or maybe he was right and they had nothing to worry about. But Smurfette was getting very agitated. He wished he find a way around this problem, which had really thrown a wrench in his plans for something he wanted to ask her.

"Smurfette, where are you going?" He watched her rise form her seat and wipe her mouth with her napkin.

"I'm going to Papa Smurf. Maybe he can figure this out."

"I'm coming with you."

"No," she said bluntly.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Do you believe me?"

That was a difficult question. A part of him wanted to believe her, that she was right, that she knew what she was talking about. But another part of him wanted to be reasonable. He knew he couldn't stay silent for long, and he wanted to support her however he could. If she felt safe, then he'd be happy.

"Yes."

* * *

"Hair of a yeti, crumbs of a crystal, a match of ice - OW!"

Scruple dropped the ice cold objects into the cauldron. He skimmed over the spell book on his desk, a cold wind blowing through the crack of the abandoned castle his master had once resided in.

"Oh, this had better work. I didn't give up squiring just for a snowbank."

He watched as the dark clouds accumulated in the sky, gathering over the forest.

"By the time that snow falls, all their crops and berries will be gone. However long it takes, I'll starve them out if I have to. But I'll make Gargamel proud. I'll show him. I'll show them all!"


	19. Chapter 19

Smurfette knocked calmly on Papa's door. Hefty stood awkwardly behind her, his hand over his forehead. Was he the only one who thought this was completely insane? The door swung open, and Smurfette pushed her way in before Papa said a word. Hefty sighed and apologized as he let himself in.

Smurfette began looking through some of Papa's books, Hefty watching in embarrassment. Papa glanced at Hefty, silently asking him for answers. Hefty simply shrugged and sighed. Papa finally approached Smurfette, taking the three books she was holding at once.

"Smurfette, what is the meaning of this?"

"You've noticed too, right, Papa?" she asked. "You've noticed the weather. It's not normal."

"Smurfette, whatever are you talking about?" Papa asked gently.

"She thinks that because the weather is getting colder, the little shrimp is up to something," Hefty explained in exasperation.

"Smurfette," Papa patted Smurfette's wrist. "The weather is supposed be colder. It's autumn."

"But it's never been this cold at this time of smurf," she argued.

He held her shoulder. "Oh, Smurfette - "

She yanked herself away from him. "Don't talk to me like I'm hysterical!"

Hefty chuckled halfheartedly. Well, at least the crazy part of her was still there. But this was a little too crazy for his liking.

"I know what is happening," Smurfette asserted. "I can feel it!"

Hefty prepared to say something, but his words were uttered by Papa first. "Trust me, my dear. It will be a cold day in Smurf if the weather changes from usual."

The door suddenly banged, the repeated sound of Brainy yelling bursting with each knock. Papa rushed to open the door and was met with the very thing he'd denied. Brainy stood in the doorway, a mound of soft, white snow in his hands.

"Papa, it's snowing on September 25th!"

Hefty and Smurfette dashed to the door, the white scenery of the village spanning out with the utterly confused Smurfs standing around in shock. The smurflings, however, took no notice and were engaged in a snowball fight.

"Yes, yes, it is..." Hefty whimpered.

"What did I tell you?!"

"Smurfette, please," Papa hushed. "Oh, this is not good."

* * *

Smurfette shut the curtains, stoking the fire she'd lit in the hearth. Hefty sat on the couch staring out the window at the raging snowstorm. Smurfette sighed and swiped the curtains back to grab his attention.

"Now you agree that something isn't right?" she demanded.

"Okay, Smurfette. I'm sorry I doubted you," he said genuinely. "But if this little chipmunk-faced twit is smurfing up this storm, we're at a loss for options here."

"How so?"

Hefty bit his lip, knowing this would definitely upset her. "To stop this, we'll have to smurf off the lockdown."

She stopped with her back towards him, her eyes widening. She shook her head. "No. No. No, nuh-uh, nope, no, no, no, no! Out of the question!"

Hefty moaned. "I knew you'd get like this."

"Like what?" she challenged.

"Crazy and defiant!" he clarified. "Smurfette, your safety and our friends' safety is my number one priority, but we have to go out if we want this to stop."

"If we go out, we'll be captured!" she affirmed.

"If we stay, we'll starve!" he shouted right back.

Smurfette growled in frustration. "Why don't you understand?! You're always telling me it's okay when it's not! You don't even know what it's like to be afraid of losing everything, what it's like to come _this close_ to losing everyone you care about!"

Hefty leaped off the couch, the lamp table falling to the floor. "You insult me, Smurfette! You don't realize that I do understand! How do you think everyone felt, how _I_ felt when you were smurfed to nothing but a lump of clay?!"

Smurfette gasped at his outburst. He seethed with anger, tearing up. His hands trembled.

"Hefty..."

He turned sharply, sitting back on the couch.

"I didn't know what happened. I didn't know what to do. Not even Papa could fix it. I wasn't even thinking. All I wanted was for you to come back. But, you were gone."

Tears welled up in her own eyes. She had known Hefty had felt this way. Everyone had felt that way. But the emotion he expressed was far beyond her expectations. To him, he had lost everything, and she was being selfish for it. She cautiously sat down next to him, staring at the floor.

"This wasn't the right time," Hefty mumbled.

"Hefty, I'm sorry things have changed. Things just have. And, ever since I smurfed Gargamel, nothing has been the same."

"...Smurfette, I'm as scared as you are." Her head snapped up in astonishment. "I have no idea what we're up against, and, quite smurfly, this man-rodent is smarter than we smurfed. I guess I have to admit you're right, but I don't just want to hide."

Smurfette held her arms. Hefty's admission was supposed to be savory. Now, it tasted bittersweet. She was being such a Smurf to him, it wasn't even funny.

"You know what?" she said. "I don't care. I'm still afraid, but we shouldn't fight about it. We were being petty."

"You mean _you_ were being petty," he corrected.

"Hey, I'm ending an argument," she warned, but smirked. "But, I guess since we're done with that, we have to find a way to smurf, or at least survive, this early winter."

"Would that involve, maybe, smurfing up by the fireplace with your boyfriend after making up?"

She chuckled. "Wasn't it obvious?" She threw the blanket from the back of the couch over their heads, turning out the lamp. She dotted his face with kisses, the light of the fire their only illumination, as the raging snowstorm ravaged the forest.

* * *

 _...Smurfily, Papa Smurf._

Papa ended his letter, rubbing his stiff hands together. The temperature was dropping by the hour and it would only be a matter of time before food would run out. He rolled up the letter and trudged through the snow outside. Feathers curled in his nest, his body tucked underneath leaves and straw.

"Sorry to disturb you, old friend. But we need you to deliver this to Mother Nature as soon as smurfly possible."

Feather ruffled his feathers and took to the small parchment in his beak. Papa rubbed the stork's neck.

"Safe travels, my friend. Smurf to warmer skies."

Feathers stood and, with a few beats of his wings, took off into the snow. Papa shivered and hurried back inside, hoping for a miracle.


	20. Chapter 20

Cold. Shivering and cold. Smurfette snuggled into her thickest blanket, the fire roaring in front of her. She was waiting for Hefty to come home. She'd been so worried about him ever since he decided to go outside. Every day it snowed, and every other night was a blizzard. She sipped on her tea, worrying. She shook her head.

The door burst open, making her gasp. The fire blew out. She ran to the fire, trying to protect the few glowing embers that remained.

"Sorry, Smurfette," Hefty apologized, dropping his satchel onto the table. "I tried to come back sooner, but Clumsy fell into a snowbank."

She blew on the embers, relighting the flames. "That's alright." She pulled the blanket around her, turning on the lamp. He fell into a chair, removing his wet clothes. She draped her blanket over his shoulders.

"Thanks."

She smiled. "Any luck smurfing some food?"

He dumped the contents of his satchel on the table, frowning. "Well, we could probably make a meal if we had about 25 of these." He held up a tiny beet. "Problem is I only smurfed..." He counted on his fingers. "three, plus five of whatever these are. A couple pea pods. Cinnamon stick."

Smurfette sighed, gathering the nearly inedible veggies. She sorted what she could in the pantry, taking some bread for Hefty. She ripped it open and split it into pieces, saving the majority on the shelf. She walked back over to the table and handed him his ration.

"Sorry about this, but there isn't a lot of bread left. We have to make it last."

He tore into his. Smurfette stared at her slice, chuckling.

"What?" Hefty noticed.

"It's just funny," she said. "Ever since we got together, you always smurf to my house. You almost never go back to your own."

He shrugged. "Well, sure I do. It's just I like spending time with you here. Plus, a room full of barbels isn't the most romantic place to be." She giggled. "Smurfette."

"Mm-hm?"

Hefty swallowed. "Papa, Brainy, Willow and I have been talking and, well, you're not going to like this but - "

"You have to smurf off the lockdown."

"We're smurfing out of options. I don't like to see you scared, but we have no choice. We haven't had contact with Mother Nature and Papa can't smurf up anything to counteract the weather charm."

She stared at her uneaten bread. "And there isn't anything else you can do?" Hefty shook his head sadly. She was still for a moment, thinking. She nodded slowly. "Okay."

Hefty ran his fingers along her jawline. She glanced over at him giving her a sad smile. She dropped her dinner and flew into his arms. "When are you going out?"

"Tomorrow at dusk."

She held to him tightly. "Please promise me that you'll come back safely."

He turned his head to kiss her hair. "I promise. Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Hefty marched out into the snow. His heart was pounding and his lungs stung from the frosty air. He glanced back at Smurfette's hut for a moment, then turned and followed the Smurfettes to the forest. Smurfstorm appeared beside him.

"Is all this necessary?" Hefty asked.

"If Smurfette has any indication, then yes." Smurfstorm said bluntly. "Don't worry. We'll take care of the hard part. Willow will explain everything at the briefing."

He followed her to the Great Oak, Smurfwillow standing on one of the snow-covered toadstools. A map of the forest was pinned to the tree with arrows. She, like the rest of the Smurfettes present, were wearing camouflage suits. Hefty hand only brought a coat and the satchel full of charms and instructions to directly end the winter. He pulled out the note Papa had left for him:

" _Hefty,_

 _The charm Scruple has cast on the Village, The Snow Storm Spell, is very powerful and very dangerous.  
Mix the sand, the mercury, and the Phoenix feather into the cauldron in that order and make sure that you wait three seconds after the spell has taken effect. Just trust me. _

_Be safe,  
Papa."_

He rifled through his satchel, checking to make sure he had everything. He then turned back up to Smurfwillow, hoping he hadn't missed anything important.

"Once we circle around this area to the south, we should be able to approach the northeast entrance through here." She kept pointing at various areas around the map of Gargamel's castle. The cliffs were hard to navigate, but Hefty didn't want to question.

"Team Alpha will take the south while Team Gamma will pull the distraction, dragging out the bogey. Hefty will come in with Team Beta while Team Delta covers for them and Team Epsilon takes the air."

"Wait, Team Beta smurfs to the west?" Clumsy asks.

"No, Team Beta goes northeast," Smurfwillow answered.

"Then who takes the west?"

"Who should I shoot if one of us were to go rogue?" Smurfstorm asked.

"That won't be necessary," Smurfwillow pressed. "Team Alpha takes the south, Gamma takes the west, Beta and Delta take the northeast, and Epsilon takes the air. Got it?"

Hefty raised his hand.

"Good, move out!"

Well, that helped none. He hitched up his satchel and followed them towards the ruins of Gargamel's castle. He knew this mission was highly dangerous, but it meant survival. He was only glad Smurfette was sound asleep in her bed.

* * *

Smurfette was not sleeping soundly. She tossed and turned, moaning as the nightmares raged inside her:

 _It was so dark, so hot. Where was everyone? She opened her eyes and let in a gasp. Gargamel's castle?! What was she doing there? She looked around though. Everything was destroyed and on the ground. She whirled around. Everyone, Smurf and Smurfette, were gathered around the spot by the door. What a relief._

 _She ran over smiling. She touched one of her fellow Smurf's shoulders. But he didn't move. He didn't acknowledge her at all. A solemn, saddened face stared at the ground._

 _She leaned over, trying to make eye contact. "Hello? Can you hear me?"_

 _She glanced back up to see everyone with the same perpetual frown on their faces. Some were frozen in sobs, crying hysterically into each other's shoulders. She wove through the crowd of frozen Smurfs, trying to see why they were all so sad. She finally made her way to the center, and her heart dropped. Hefty laid across the mound of clay, which still vaguely resembled Smurfette._

 _She slowly approached, not sure if she was meant to see this. She cautiously set her hand on Hefty's back._

 _"Why did you do it, Smurfette?"_

 _She jumped at his voice. He raised his head, turning to look at her. "Why didn't you stop us?"_

 _"What?"_

 _She suddenly felt her feet leave the ground, her vision clouded by burlap. The obnoxious laugh of Scruple met her ears. She thrashed against the bag, swaying in his grip until she was finally tossed into a cage. She ran up, rattling the bars. The sight that met her...she blanched. Everyone was in cages, swaying back and forth as Scruple began conjuring over a cauldron. In his fingers, he held Hefty, unconscious and unresponsive, over the boiling potion._

 _"HEFTY!"_

She sat straight up, sweating like an animal. She'd known the whole time! She knew where this was headed!

"It's a trap!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay, but my mom grounded me from my computer until the end of the year. I'll try to post more regularly and keep you guys entertained. Again, sorry to keep you waiting.**


	21. Chapter 21

Hefty crouched in the bushes with Smurflily and Tracker, waiting for the signal from Team Alpha, or Gamma, or whatever! Just waiting for the signal! The old broken castle was looming right in front of them, a new stone bridge where the rope one used to be. The crude face-paint was starting to make his face itch, not that it did much good anyway; the bushes had no leaves. He was starting to think that maybe, even with the thoroughly thought out plan, that they hadn't thought everything through.

Something tapped his shoulder, making him jump. Smurflily put her finger to her lips.

"Do you think Smurfette will follow us?" she whispered.

"What happened to - ?" He mimicked the finger to the mouth gesture.

She rolled her eyes. "This is taking forever anyway. Do you think Smurfette will follow us?"

Hefty shook his head. "No, she's not going to."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I convinced her, and smurfed the door."

"You did what to the door?" she asked in frustration. "Because by that logic you could have said you licked the door."

Hefty groaned silently. "What isn't there to understand? It's simple! I smurfed the door shut."

Smurflily made a face, shaking her head. Hefty resisted the urge to scream. "She's not coming, okay?"

"Good, because I can't live with snow on my stove."

Hefty kept his eyes on the dead tree at the base of the cliff. It should have come by now. He waited with his heart in his throat.

The blue flag suddenly waved from behind the tree, signalling Hefty and his team. He darted out of the bushes with his team, running across the bridge and to the entry point. Everything was going according to plan. Smurfstorm and her team stood at the entrance, nodding to Hefty. He nodded back, allowing Smurflily and Tracker to go ahead of him before he finally entered the dark building.

* * *

Smurfette ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She hadn't had time to grab much, only a coat and some stylish boots. The snowline ended a few human feet from the village. She just couldn't let her dream come to fruition.

On and on, she ran and ran to the one place she never wanted to see again in her life. The old black and gray mound was still broken and crumbling, but standing nonetheless. A new stone bridge had been built to replace the rope one. It was sturdier. Her eyes darted over the leaves and mud. There was not a spot of blue in sight.

She planned to run through the shrubs and find someone, anyone, to call this off. But the ground was further than she expected. She rose to her knees to find that she was in a large footprint. She dared to look in front of her to where to the footprints led. She frightfully stumbled among the dry roots and leaves, following the large prints until finally coming to a clearing.

Her worst nightmare came true.

Patches of cloth, scattered spears, a coil of rope, and dozens of tiny empty footprints were sprawled across the clearing. She covered her mouth in horror, looking down at her feet. Brainy's glasses glimmered light into her eyes. She picked them up, forcing back the tears that were beginning to well up in here eyes. She couldn't let this happen again. Not again!

She hooked the glasses onto her collar and ran in the direction of the castle.

* * *

It was eerily silent in Gargamel's (former) lair. Hefty gripped his satchel as Smurflily scouted ahead of him, her spear at the ready. The smell of mildew and dust hung in the air. For a place that was now reinhabited, you'd think to tidy up the place.

"It's quiet," Tracker commented.

"Too quiet?" Smurflily asked.

"No, just quiet."

"No smurfing games, you guys," Hefty ordered. "Where's that cauldron?"

Tracker sniffed the air, then the ground. "About 20 smurfs yonder." He pointed towards the fireplace.

Smurflily examined the walls, the tables, the ceilings. A spot of black mold hid in the corner. "How lovely," she snarked. "Makes you wish you got out of the village more often, eh, Hefty?"

"Not me," Hefty replied. "I just want to stop this early winter and smurf back to the village before Smurfette even tries to stop us."

They traveled further into the lair. "Speaking of stopping us," Smurflily said. "Don't you think we should have run into something by now?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. A guard, or a booby trap." The remaining light suddenly extinguished. "Or an ambush."

The lights flashed back on, and Smurflily and Tracker were gone. The floor disappeared from Hefty's feet. The second ugliest face he'd ever seen met his eyes as he struggled.

"What have we here?" Scruple grinned his yellow teeth. Hefty wriggled against his grip. "Down look at me like that. You can spend your last few moments alive with the rest of your little friends."

Hefty looked up in horror to see the rest of the village, Smurf and Smurfette alike, trapped in hanging cages. In Scruple's other hand, Smurflily and Tracker cried out from inside the butterfly net. Hefty struggled harder, but to no avail. Scruple swung the net towards an empty cage and shoved them in. Smurflily charged at the door, but fell back. Her hand tingled with an orange shock.

"Nuh-uh-uh. Mustn't touch. You see, this orange stuff isn't all that good for little blue beans like you guys. Makes the body all shaky and loose and we don't want that, now do we?"

He carried Hefty over to the fireplace, passing the table on the way.

"Was that what you were looking for?" A small cauldron sat on the windowsill, snow and icy wind blowing out into the sky. "I knew as soon as I cast that charm you'd try to stop me. So, I set a trap to catch the trap."

"Smurfette was right," Hefty mumbled.

"Don't look so down about it. I got to admire your bravery a little bit. Oh wait, that wasn't bravery. It was stupidity."

Hefty clenched his fists as Scruple cackled. He checked the overhanging cages. "Let's see, that's one two three four five - carry the 12 - 57 - da da dadada - 198. I'm missing two. Ah well, better than nothing."

He lifted Hefty over the boiling cauldron over the fire. "Since you were obviously the one who was supposed to stop this, you'll be the first to go. Oh, and I'll be taking this."

He snatched Hefty's satchel right off his shoulders and dropped it on the ground. He held Hefty over the cauldron before the front door slammed open. Scruple groaned. "What now?"

He turned, expecting to find someone. But no one was there. He simply closed the door and shrugged, not giving it a second thought. But when he turned around, a smurf with blonde hair and high heels was standing by the fireplace.

"What the - ?"

A flashing light blinded Scruple into dropping Hefty. Hefty landed on his feet, snatching up the satchel and running up to Smurfette. She was holding up Brainy's glasses, reflecting the light from the fire into Scruple face.

"Smurfette, you - "

"No time!" she yelled. "Get to the cauldron!"

Hefty looked to the windowsill and jumped onto the stool. He bounded up the chair, climbing the wood, onto the table, up a few books and onto the small cauldron. Icy wind blew into his face. He still reached into his satchel.

"Let's see," he reread the letter, pouring in the ingredients. "Sand..." the snow disappeared, replaced with cold rain. "Mercury..." The rain stopped, leaving nothing but wind. "And the Phoenix feather." he pulled out the red feather, but was snatched from behind. The feather slipped from his grasp and beside the cauldron. Scruple squeezed him, his eyes filled with rage.

"Hey Scruple!"

The two looked in the direction of the voice. Smurfette smirked as she dropped the feather into the cauldron. The wind stopped. Scruple screamed in rage, grabbing Smurfette by her long locks. "Doesn't matter! I have what I - "

 ** _BOOM!_**

A sudden explosion blinded everyone. Hefty and Smurfette fell to the floor. The shock aura around the cages vanished, the doors opened and Smurfs pouring out. Hefty sat up and rubbed his eyes. Smurfette moaned beside him.

"Smurfette!" He scrambled over to her, holding her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"How did you - ? But I told you to - "

Smurfette rolled her eyes. "Hefty, since when am I going to let you handle life-or-smurf missions alone? You know I couldn't smurf by and watch you do this."

Hefty sighed and hugged her. "I'm just glad I didn't have to lose you this time."

"Speaking of losing, where's Scruple?"

The two looked around, trying to see past the swarm of cheering Smurfs. Smurfette looked to the ceiling and pointed. A smaller hole, next to the larger one made by Gargamel, was blasted into the ceiling.

"Huh. Rather fitting."

"Hello! Excuse me!" Brainy stumbled around, blind without his glasses. "Has anyone seen my glasses. I am as blind as a smurf without them and I would very much like them back."

"Oh," Smurfette picked herself up and put his glasses back on his face. "Sorry, Brainy."

"Hey, Hefty!" Hefty looked up. Smurfstorm leaned over the now empty cauldron on the windowsill. "There's something in there."

Hefty climbed back onto the windowsill and peeked inside the cauldron. He gasped. Stormy smirked. Hefty laughed. "Gosh-smurf-it, Papa. Hey, Smurfette!"

Smurfette gazed up at him. He was waving her up. She hoisted herself up the chair and onto the table, Hefty meeting her there. His hands were held behind his back.

"What is it?"

"Smurfette, I'm sorry I doubted you. I know you just wanted to look out for us, and I guess we should have listened to you."

"Hefty - "

"Let me finish." He interrupted. "I was just so afraid of losing you that I didn't want you to worry about anything ever again. But, that's your job. You need to worry over me. Over all of us. Because that's what's so great about you."

"Hefty..."

He took her hand, and knelt onto one knee. Her jaw dropped.

"Smurfette..." He pulled his other hand from his back, revealing the silver ring with a blue diamond. "Will you marry me?"

She let out a strangled gasp. "Marry you?"

"Yes! I want to smurf the rest of my life with you, if you'll have me."

Tears streamed down her face. "Of course."


	22. Chapter 22

An entire parade led Hefty and Smurfette back to the village. The snow had disappeared almost immediately, only a few patches remaining. Not surprisingly, only the Smurflings were disheartened by this. They eventually stopped whining enough to stare at the diamond ring around Smurfette's finger.

"It sure is pretty, Smurfette." Sassette chirped.

"Is it a real diamond?" Slouchy asked.

"It better be!" Snappy said. "What kind of smurf is Hefty if he doesn't smurf you what you deserve?"

Smurfette giggled at Snappy's comment. The hormones of an adult smurf were gone for now, but it was still comical and rather sweet to have Snappy keep Hefty in line. "Well, real diamond or not, it's beautiful. And I love it."

"So, when's the big day?" Nat asked, chewing on a stack of wheat.

"Well, we're trying to smurf for somewhere before Thanksgiving, though spring would have been nice. It's alright. We still have to smurf out the details." Smurfette yawned. "After I get some sleep.

* * *

After a full two days of sleeping, the Village was starting to come alive again. Along with the preparations for Halloween, Smurfette and Hefty were making preparations for when they finally tied the knot. If they wanted to start before the next snowfall came, they'd have to hurry.

Smurfette was jotting down some notes while Hefty was doing some arm curls. The door suddenly burst open, and a plethora of invitations, flowers, and catalogs were thrown onto the table. Smurfette didn't even have to look to know who it was.

"Okay, these are just some notes to get you guys started," Smurfblossom peeked over the pile. "This union hasn't been had in 1000 years, so it's gotta be special! I got flowers, dresses, invitation designs, a playlist of traditional wedding songs. Matching "Getting Hitched" T-shirts!"

She threw a t-shirt over Hefty's head.

"Um, we appreciate the enthusiasm, Blossom," Smurfette noted. "But we can handle on our own."

Smurfblossom gasped. "You're going to waste one of the biggest, greatest, beautiful-est moments in Smurf history by having a wedding in what you're wearing on your front door step?" She shook her head. "It's like they all say: If you want drink the cow, ya gotta put a ring on it."

"Literally _no one_ says that," Hefty said flatly.

"Besides, it'll be fun! You'll be the bride, and he'll be the groom! And, I'm gonna be the flower girl and - and - and - Brainy and I will live in your garage!"

"There's no talking you out of this, is there?" Hefty asked.

"Nope," Blossom chirped.

She yanked the two outside, dragging her pile of supplies in her arms. Hefty's eyebrows shot up to his hat. Smurfette stopped looking at the village scene to giggle at Hefty before staring back at the village. It was as if they were having a second Blue Moon ball. But how did everyone know that she had wanted lavender roses?

"Come on! Planning is going on in the red hut."

"You mean Papa Smurf's hut?"

"Same diff," Smurfblossom replied, pushing them towards the red roofed hut. Hefty glanced at Smurfette for help. She simply shrugged. There was no getting out of this even if they tried.

The first they were met with was Brainy, then the vast array of charts, lists, and graphs pinned to the walls and ceilings of Papa's hut.

"How did Papa agree to this?" Hefty asked.

"What Papa Smurf doesn't know won't smurf me," Brainy said. "But there are more important matter to be smurfed with."

"And we can assure you that we have this under control," Smurfette said. "We don't need any help, as much as we appreciate it. This is our wedding, after all."

Brainy and Smurfblossom laughed. Hefty and Smurfette stared at them blankly. "Are you done now?"

The two finally stopped laughing, only for them to burst into laughter again.

"Quick! Leave while they're still laughing!" Smurfette pulled Hefty towards the door, but it was locked from the outside. "Gosh-smurf-it!"

The laughter finally died down and Smurfette and Hefty were pulled further into the chaos. They sat down at one of the unoccupied tables, Blossom dumping her supplies in front of them.

"This is the first smurf wedding in centuries!" Smurfblossom squeed. "So it has to be special! Don't you want this to be a day you never forget?"

Smurfette blushed. "Well, I do want to remember it for the rest of my life...Okay! Just, nothing too extravagant. Less is smurf."

Blossom squealed, flipping open a huge binder. "Let's pick out the format of your wedding invitations."

"Oh! Can it have flames on it? Blue flames!"

"With bluebirds!" Smurfette added.

Smurfblossom flipped through the binder. "I think I have what you're looking for on page 184."

"How long did it take you to put this together?" Smurfette asked.

Blossom mused, "My entire life."

* * *

Hours later, the invitations were copied and sent. The Smurfblossom had gone over the decorations with Smurfette while Hefty discussed wedding roles. It went as well as one might think.

"Um, Brainy, what makes you think I'm making you my Best Smurf?"

"Because I am," he answered simply.

"I don't think you understand what "Best Smurf" means, Brainy."

"Do you?"

Hefty let the pencil slide out of his hand. "I'm not smurfing the "best smurf" out of the entire village. I'm smurfing the smurf who I feel should be there at my wedding. Handy's my Best Smurf. I'm not arguing about this."

" _Handy?_ "

"He's like a brother to me! We were delivered on the same day, at the same time, by the same stork. I've never been closer to anysmurf else apart from Smurfette. You're a great friend, Brainy. But the part of Best Smurf isn't your decision to make."

Brainy plastered an obviously fake smile on his face. "So, I must have a different role?"

"You're one of my ushers," Hefty said, going back to taking notes.

"Ushers?"

"Yeah, you...uh...direct the guests to their seats. You're part of my groomssmurfs, I think. Along with Clumsy and Jokey."

"Who officiates the ceremony?"

"Smurfwillow."

"Smurfs Smurfette down the aisle?"

"Papa Smurf, of course."

"Ring smurfer?"

"Nat."

"Smurf of honor?"

"Smurflily."

"Flower smurf?"

Hefty finally looked up. "You really wanna go there?"

Before Brainy could answer, Smurfette set her bag by the door as she walked in. "Hey guys." She kissed Hefty's cheek. "What're we working on?"

"Just smurfing some ideas for the food. I know Smurfstorm doesn't like tomatoes and Grouchy hates anything green, so we'll have to make sure to accommodate that. What do you think, Brainy?"

"Just smurf whatever." Brainy got up from his chair and marched out the door.

"What's his problem?" Smurfette asked.

"He's just sore because i made him one of my groomssmurfs and not Best Smurf."

"But, that's not up to him."

"Thank you!"

"He'll get over it," Smurfette assured. "Besides, he's the one who'll have to host the Bachelor Party."

Hefty chuckled. "True. But, I'm leaving the planning for that one to Handy. You remember the last time Brainy tried to organize a party, right?"

Smurfette clapped her hand over her eyes. "Ugh...some of us are still trying to smurf the knots out of our backs after Clumsy tried to do the limbo."

Hefty chuckled, neglecting his notes to focus on his beautiful fiancee.

"But, in all seriousness," Smurfette said. "Maybe you shouldn't be so critical of Brainy. He just wants to be part of our big day as much as the rest of us, even if he is being selfish."

Hefty sighed. "Alright, I'll speak with him."

Smurfette kissed his cheek again. Hefty pulled her onto his lap. "Why do you keep missing?" He pulled her in for a kiss on the lips. Smurfette pulled away after a while.

"Now, now, darling. Wait for the wedding."

The two pleasured themselves a little longer before Smurfette got up and picked up her bag. "I'm going to meet Tailor and Smurfdaisy about my dress. No peeking, okay?"

"Wouldn't smurf of it," Hefty assured before Smurfette disappeared. He rubbed his eyes. "How am I supposed to smurf to Brainy without becoming a test subject? I guess I do owe him a favor. Just no more drama! That's I smurf! Nothing can go wrong. This day has to be perfect."


	23. Chapter 23

Hefty lifted his fist to knock for about the tenth time before he actually did it. He heard a groan before the door swung open, Brainy's eyes magnified by his goggles.

"Hefty Smurf."

"I just wanna talk."

"Are you making me Best Smurf?"

"No."

"Then i don't want to hear it." He attempted to slam the door in Hefty's face, but he shoved his way in. "You're awfully persistent today."

"Come on, Brainy. You're acting like a smurfling. You're still part of my groomssmurfs. That's a big smurf in itself."

Brainy rolled his large eyes. "You could have smurfed anyone."

"No, I really couldn't."

"So, if I'm so important, why aren't I Best Smurf?" He awaited an answer, but Hefty chuckled.

"I'm sorry. Could you please take those off. I can't smurf you seriously with your eyes that big."

Brainy scowled, but obliged and set his headset on the counter. He turned away from his visitor and began solving equations on his chalkboard.

"Brainy, you're still an awesome friend." Brainy said nothing, only jotting more numbers. "Help me understand! Why are you so smurfed about this?"

The piece of chalk in Brainy's hand snapped, the halves clattering on the floor. He banged his head into the board. "I just thought that...maybe after smurfing you guys out after everything that's happened, I'd finally get some recognition."

"You do get recognition, Brainy."

"Not the right kind," Brainy flipped his chalkboard, showing a vast array of tallies and X-marks around a remarkably drawn village. "I just want to be useful. I want to be great like Papa Smurf. I want to be a leader. But, if I try, I'm smurfed into a pile of leaves and twigs two smurfs from the village."

"Oh..." Hefty bit his bottom lip, relaying how many times he'd chucked Brainy out of the village for simply being really annoying. "We all still love you, Brainy. You're...you're our bro!"

Brainy shook his head. "Admit it, Hefty. No smurf in this entire village can stand to be around me."

"What about Clumsy?"

"I never smurf him anymore. He's always smurfing away with Smurflily."

Hefty sighed. "I'm...Oh, Smurfs, I can't believe I'm saying this...I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry for being annoying," Brainy added. "Being Best Smurf doesn't really matter to me. I just wanted to be important."

Hefty lightly punched his shoulder. "Of course you're important. Who else is going to host my bachelor party?"

"I thought Handy was hosting the party."

Hefty shook his head. "Nah, Handy isn't really the host type."

The corners of Brainy's mouth turned up, but only a little. As much as this Smurf annoyed him, he couldn't stand to see him sad. He was probably going to regret this, but what else would cheer him up?

"Um, are you...smurfing on anything that needs testing?"

* * *

Hefty rubbed his scalp before replacing his hat. "You said it wouldn't get weird!"

Brainy slipped out of his pincer sensors and ran over to the printer as it spat out printed text.

"What was this for, again?"

"Well," Brainy said, reading over the data. "Smurfette had mentioned sometime after the storm that she'd been experiencing strange dreams, involving two young, unknown smurfs. Have you been smurfing any odd dreams?"

Hefty shook his head. "She's never told me about this."

"Well, at the time, it smurfed no sense. But I smurfed her through the same procedure _exactly._.."

" _Exactly?!"_

"Yes, smurf up, Hefty! And I discovered a sort of radiation emitting from her hippocampus. It didn't seem like anything I've ever smurfed before."

Hefty knitted his brow, concerned. "Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"I smurfed it best to wait until you had undergone the same treatment. Let's see...That's odd."

"What?"

Brainy had scrolled down the end of the page. "Nothing. It's all completely normal."

Hefty stood up , looking over Brainy's shoulder. He had no idea what he was looking at, though. "What do you mean?"

"Yours looks completely different from Smurfette's. Her hippocampus radiates a sort of aura whereas yours is simply...a hippocampus. It isn't a female trait, as i have tested on several...ahem...other subjects."

Hefty crossed his arms. "I think you have a problem."

"Perhaps."

Hefty shook his head. "But why is it only in Smurfette?"

Brainy shrugged. "I thought it was because of the Blue Moon, but since there are no smurfs of the substance in your brain, frankly, I'm smurfed."

"Well, that's just smurfy. Could it be dangerous?"

Brainy shrugged again. Hefty massaged his scalp again. "No, no. This can't spoil the wedding. It'll have to wait. So, Brainy, about the bachelor party."

* * *

Hefty entered Smurfette's house late that night. He noticed how he'd been neglecting his own home more and more often unless it was to lift. He didn't mind, but it was something that lingered in the back of his mind. He was surprised rumors hadn't been going around that - He shook the thought from his mind. No smurf in their right mind would ever think they'd do anything like that. At least, not without each other's permission. He couldn't possibly imagine doing such a thing without her consent.

Yet, the thought of doing more than kissing her, of feeling every curve and strand of golden hair, sent a chill up his spine.

"Hi, Hefty."

Smurfette lay on the couch, her head on the armrest and a blanket draped over her. Her eyes were half-closed, and she looked gorgeous in the dim light. He smiled.

"Hello, my love." He knelt by her side, brushing stray hairs from her face. "Tired?"

She nodded. "A little."

"Do you want me to smurf the night again?" he asked.

"You don't have to," she whispered.

He pecked her cheek. "I want to."

She held out her arms. "Carry me?"

He chuckled, bent down, and scooped her into his arms. He journeyed down the hall, his heart racing as she snuggled into his chest. Remarkable that, even as they were about to get married, she still managed to take his breath away. He gently set her in bed, her hand trailing down his arm. He lifted the covers and allowed himself into the bed beside her. She snuggled into his chest.

"I love you, Hefty Smurf."

"I love you, too, Smurfette."

Hefty stared at the ceiling, Smurfette sleeping soundly in his arms. He couldn't hold her close enough. After his visit with Brainy, he felt a new urge to protect her and take care of her. Something dangerous could be going on inside her, and it terrified him. He buried his face into her hair, trying to push away the dreaded thoughts and focus only on her and their future. It was so bright. He couldn't let something like this ruin a big event.

He fell asleep cradling her.


	24. Chapter 24

The next few weeks passed without incident, though Hefty was never away from Smurfette for more than a few minutes. Sometimes he was distracted by helping Handy plan his bachelor party, but not much was needed since Handy had said that he could handle most of it. Apparently, Smurfette and Smurflily were planning their own bachelorette party, and conversation of that always made him leave the room to do some arm curls. It's not like he should really be listening to that.

He set the small barbel aside and moved to the larger dumbbell, lifting it with one hand.

 _It could just be nothing,_ he thought. _I mean, Smurfette was not born like the rest of us. She's bound to have something different in her...anatomy. But, why do I have a bad feeling about this? Gosh, I'm starting to smurf like Smurfette._

He set the dumbbell back on the rack.

 _It's a dangerous game we're smurfing._

A crack in the floorboards caught his attention. Smurfette stood in the doorway, staring at him.

"How long have you been smurfing there?"

"A few minutes," she answered. "I was coming to check on you, but I knew better than to interrupt you. You were smurf in thought."

"Oh, yeah?" He sat down on one of the work benches, wiping his forehead. He must have been pushing himself more than he thought. Smurfette handed him a towel. "Thank you."

"So," she began slowly. "What were you smurfing about? And don't say nothing."

She knew him too well. _Think of a lie! Think of a lie!_ "Just...nervous. About the wedding."

Her face fell. "You don't want to go through with it?"

"NO! No, no, no!" He stood up and took her hands, the towel around his shoulders. "Smurfette, I want this more than anything. If I could be with you forever, I'd be the happiest Smurf alive. It's just...what if something goes wrong? What if something happens?"

She smiled understandingly. "And what if it does?"

"I want this day to be perfect."

She giggled, wiping his face with the towel before kissing him. "I want it to be perfect too. But, I think it's my job to worry about how the wedding will smurf. We don't need two smurfy wrecks on our wedding day. But, if it makes you smurf any better, I'm nervous too."

A knock to the doorway diverted their attention.

"Um, Hefty?" Brainy asked. "A smurf of your time?"

* * *

Smurfette left early for her bachelorette party the next morning, so Hefty was still asleep she left. Though, he wished he'd woken up sooner. His dreams were full of Brainy asking the most absurd requests.

"No...that...don't give him the banana. It's what he wants!"

The door thrust him from sleep, so he dragged himself out of bed, dressed quickly, and opened the door.

"Here comes the groom!"

"Handy? What are you doing here?"

Handy rolled his eyes playfully. "You're really going to miss your own Bachelor party?"

"Now? What time is it?"

Handy linked his arm around his shoulders. "Time is an illusion now. Now, we party like Smurfs!"

Hefty's face immediately lit up and he let Handy lead him towards the Great Oak.

"Okay, so, first we're gonna smurf with some grass sprints, just to warm us up. Then, it's Smurfball, smurfboarding, then hot springs (because that always feels good)..."

Hefty cleared his throat, urging Handy to continue.

"Right. Then, we dance until smurf!"

"Brainy helped you with all this?"

Handy laughed. "He'd like to smurf that, wouldn't he? The only item I let him handle was setting up the chairs. He's also auctioning off some of his stuff that he doesn't have smurf for anymore - "

"No, thanks."

"I figured."

They neared the Great oak, the entire square packed with every male smurf in the village, and even some non-Smurf friends, like the Woodelves. They cheered as they saw him approaching. Brainy held a microphone as he parted the crowd to meet the two.

"Hefty Smurf! It is truly an honor that we host the first Smurf Bachelor party _ever!_ Everyone wants to know, how does it feel?" He held the microphone to Hefty's face.

"Uh...good? And, kinda exciting."

The crowd went wild as Brainy announced the first event, leading them to the field.

"This is insane," Hefty said through his teeth.

"Did you smurf anything less?" Handy asked. Hefty shook his head. "Just smurf close to me. There'll at least be one sane smurf tonight, I will promise you."

Hefty chuckled. "Don't make promises you can't smurf, Hand."

"I'm serious!" Handy pressed. "No crazy outbursts, no surprises, no smurfing Brainys."

Hefty stifled a laugh. "O-Okay. I can smurf your word for that."

* * *

Smurfette sighed, leaning back into the cushioned waterlily as water sprites washed her hair in the waterfall, the fairies doing her nails. She was tempted to eat the cucumbers on her eyes, but refrained. She knew Smurflily, Smurfblossom, and Smurfhazel were being giving the same treatment. Smurfstorm had insisted that not put all that drivel on her face and simply soak in the lagoon. The rest of the smurfettes were receiving caterpillar massages, getting their hair done, or swimming in the water and having fun.

"You guys, this is amazing." Smurfette soaked her feet in the warm water.

"This is all for you," Smurfhazel reminded her. "You deserve it after all that heck."

Smurfette chuckled, trying to find it lighthearted. It still stung though. "I wonder how the boys are doing."

Lily sighed. "Don't worry about them right now. Today is all about you."

"Also, since you're getting this awesome facial, and a mani and a pedi, and a massage, think of this as an added bonus," Blossom chirped, nibbling on the cucumbers. "You're getting some girl time, and you're prepping for the wedding. I mean, you always look gorgeous, but when Hefty sees you walk down that aisle, he'll run down that aisle and walk you himself."

Smurfette blushed under her mask. "Thanks Blossom. I just hope they haven't destroyed the village yet."

* * *

Hefty redressed after soaking in the hot springs. It always felt good to soak after a workout. But he, and everyone else, sure was hungry. Round tables were set up on the dance floor around a stage, food served at a buffet table that had to be roped off to keep Greedy at bay. Chef and Baker had gone all out, and Hefty was glad of that. Before he could make his way to the food, someone waved from the tables.

Handy sat at a small table in the center of the floor, a decent distance from the stage, but close enough to where they could both see. He made his way over and sat down.

"Smurf of honor."

"Shut up, man," Hefty chuckled.

Chef hurried over with a plate in each hand. He set them down and opened the lid. Hefty's mouth watered.

"A large meat pizza with every kind of meat on it, including pheasant. Compliments of the chef, moi."

"Thank you, Chef," Handy said, as Hefty had no words. He hand already begun to devour his dinner. "How can you eat that? That thing has more grease on it than your axle after a smurf in the hot sun."

Hefty swallowed, and smirked. "There is still much you need to smurf from me, my friend. Such as, how to acquire the taste for meat."

"I'll smurf to a Caesar Smurf salad, thanks."

Brainy slid into the remaining chair between them. "Has the groom been enjoying his time?"

Hefty held Brainy's shoulders. "Brainy, I can't believe I'm about to say this, but this is genius!"

Tears formed in Brainy's eyes.

"Don't cry, Brainy."

Brainy sniffled. "I've smurfed for so long to hear someone smurf that." He wiped his glasses. "Anyhow, I just wanted to inform you that the entertainment is about to begin."

"Nice," Handy stated. "What's Harmony going to smurf tonight?" Brainy blushed, smiling sheepishly. "What did you do?

"Well, Harmony informed me that he was feeling smurfed out and desired a break. I've smurfed a new musician."

Handy facepalmed. "Why did you tell me?"

"Because it was on such short smurf! But I discovered the perfect replacement. Don't you worry!" He ran from the table, groom and Best Smurf watching him as he dashed behind the curtains.

"If he smurfs this up, I'll smurf him by his scraggly little smurfs," Handy seethed.

"Dude! Language!" Hefty admonished.

Brainy stepped back onto the stage, holding a microphone. "Alright, everyone. There has been a change of smurfs this evening, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed. I promise that you will be completely entranced. So, smurf it up for...MARINA!"

The curtains drew, and Handy's eyes grew wide at the beautiful mermaid in a tank, a speaker in the glass. The music started; she opened her mouth:

" _My mama done tol' me_  
 _When I was in pigtails_  
 _My mama done tol' me_  
 _A man's gonna sweet-talk and give you the big eyes_  
 _But when the sweet-talking's done_  
 _A man is a two-face, a worrisome thing_  
 _Who'll leave you to sing the blues in the night"_

Hefty glanced at Handy. His eyes had grown big, and they never faltered from the beautiful singer. He raised an eyebrow.

 _"Now the rain's a-fallin'_  
 _Hear the train a-callin, "whoo-ee!"_  
 _My mama done tol' me_  
 _Hear that lonesome whistle blowin' 'cross the trestle, "whoo-ee!"_  
 _My mama done tol' me_  
 _A-whooee-ah-whooee ol' clickety-clack_  
 _A-echoin' back th' blues in the night."_

Hefty suddenly became alarmed. He poked his friend, but he didn't move. He waved his hand in front of his eyes, snapped his fingers into his ear. Nothing! Whatever happened to "nothing crazy happening"?

 _"From Natchez to mobile,_  
 _From Memphis to St. Joe_  
 _Wherever the four winds blow_  
 _I been in some big towns_  
 _An' heard me some big talk_  
 _But there is one thing I know_  
 _A man's a two-face, a worrisome thing_  
 _who'll leave you to sing the blues in the night"_

She finally concluded her song, and the curtains closed. The smurfs applauded her, but Handy remained entranced.

"Handy!" Hefty yelled in his ear. "Smurf to Handy!"

He shook his head. "Huh? What? Did you say something?"

Hefty laughed.

"What?"

"Your face, dude."

Handy's hand flew to his face. His cheeks were hot. "What? Is there something wrong with my face?"

Hefty poked his shoulder. "Somebody's in love."

Handy's blush crawled to his entire face. "W-What?! I-I-I don't think you know what you're talking about."

"You couldn't smurf your eyes off her."

"Neither could anyone else."

"You're sweating like an animal.'

Handy wiped his forehead. "Smurf of the light."

"When you stared at her, your eyes smurfed little hearts! I don't how that is physically possible; you changed your _eyeballs!"_

Handy shrunk down in his seat. "So what if I am? So what if when I saw her at the Blue Moon Ball, I knew she was the one? So what if I... kissed her?" He facepalmed. "She told me we could never be together, Hefty."

Hefty blinked. "What?"

Handy sighed. "After we kissed, I was so happy. I finally knew how you felt with Smurfette. But, she can't survive long outside of water. And I can't smurf in water. I've been smurfing on some new scuba equipment, but all the tests I've smurfed have failed."

Hefty reached out, then hesitantly set his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, man."

Handy wiped his eyes. "It's...it's alright. At least, she's here for a while."

"Then what are you doing smurfing here?!" Hefty asked and pointed to the stage. "Go get her!"

Handy sprang from the table and disappeared into the crowd as they were clearing the tables.

"Alright, everyone!" Brainy's voice came from the speakers. "Smurf your hands in the air, get your dance smurfs on, and I'll see you on the dance floor."

The music turned up and the entire dance floor filled to the max. Hefty let himself show off his moves (and get crowd-surfed) before the party finally started to die down. He snatched a drink from the snack table before returning to the village.

Not many were back yet. A lot still wanted the night to last. He made his way to his hut, sipping his drink. He opened the door and turned on the light. Was his hut always this small? Was it always a mess like this? He set his drink on the nightstand before sorting out his barbels, putting them in their proper places before falling into bed. It was harder than he remembered.

Of all the things in his life as a bachelor, it was clear he wouldn't miss this.

* * *

 _Song is Blues in the Night sung by Ella Fitzgerald. I do not own it._


	25. Chapter 25

**_Short chapter, but I'm sure as smurf making up for it in the next one. ;)_**

* * *

 _"Smurfette."_

 _There he was. That same unknown smurf she kept seeing. She was in the forest now. It was bright daylight, but the shadows of the leaves provided enough shade. He held out his hand to her. This time, she stepped towards him. He seemed so inviting and friendly, like Hefty. She stopped a few smurf feet away from him._

 _"Do I know you?"_

 _He smiled warmly. "Not yet. For now, I'm just a dream."_

 _"What?"_

 _He sighed, slipping out of his leather jacket to expose the green flannel underneath. "Don't be afraid of her. She just needs help, just like you smurfed it when he made you."_

 _"What?!"_

 _He wrapped the jacket around her shoulders and everything went black. Her hands flew to her eyes, the blackness like water trying to drown her. She breathed. She was fine. She didn't want to look at what was in front of her. It was just another nightmare telling her of something bad to come. But the sound of someone crying made her peek._

 _A young smurfette with tawny blonde hair knelt in the valley. It was nighttime, only illuminated by the moon. She was crying in a bed of black flowers. Smurfette shook with fear when she turned. But she was met with the same fear staring back at her. Almost, like looking in a mirror._

 _The young smurfette held out her hand. Smurfette inched closer until she could see. Her hand was full of dry, black petals._

 _"I killed them..." she sobbed. "I just wanted to take care of them, but I killed them!"_

 _She buried her face in her hands, a huge gust of wind carrying the black petals away until they were sitting in nothing but a light brown field of dead grass. Smurfette knelt by the crying young one's side. She held one of her shaking hands and, from out of nowhere, produced a small blue flower and put it in her palm. She stopped crying, but her frown never faltered._

 _"I cannot fight it. No matter how hard I try, I'm evil."_

 _"Someone once smurfed the same thing to me," Smurfette said. "I almost listened. But, in the end, I didn't."_

 _The Smurfette-ling sighed. "You have to be careful. He can only protect you so much."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"The next few events of your life will pass peacefully. But he is not gone."_

 _She stood up, her black cloak swirling around her. Her eyes glowed, and at the same time, Smurfette's vision lit up with the same light. She closed her eyes, but that made it worse. She stared at the smurfette as she rose several feet into the air, her arms outstretched._

 _"Wait!" she yelled. "Who are you?"_

 _The smurfette held the blue flower, the stem withering and leaving only the petals. She muttered:_

 _"_ Je suis la fille des ténèbres et de la lumiere."

 _Smurfette...Smurfette!_

* * *

"Smurfette, wake up!"

Smurfette rubbed her eyes, willing herself to awake. Another weird dream. But, not necessarily a nightmare. Odd. A knock came from her bedroom door. She slid out of bed and opened the door for Smurfblossom, Smurflily, Smurfstorm, and Vanity.

"What the - you guys!"

"What? You wanna be late for your own wedding?"

 _Today? My wedding is today?!_ How could she forget?

"No! Right! What are we smurfing for?! Let's go!"

She let them drag her to Vanity's studio to get ready. But her mind was still on her remarkably vivid dream. She remembered those two smurfs, how familiar they were. Foreboding yet friendly. Intimidating yet so welcoming. She knew them somehow. Perhaps they could be someone she would know in the future, just like the young smurf had said. The young smurfette's eyes, she knew them from somewhere.

"Smurfette, hello?"

She snapped back to reality.

"You gonna get dressed or you gonna walk down that aisle naked?"

"Please don't," Vanity said, gazing at her through his mirror.

Smurfette chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. I don't think I'm awake yet."

A cold splash of water to her face silenced her. Smurfblossom stood in front of her with half a glass of water. "Awake now?"

Smurfette snatched the glass away and splashed whatever was left into Smurfblossom's face. "I am now."


	26. Chapter 26

Hefty wrung his hands, pacing back and forth behind the Great Oak. Handy stared at him.

"Smurfing walnuts?"

"What?"

"Your hands may be too sore for that ring before you even smurf to the altar."

Hefty put his hands into his pockets, realizing how red they'd gotten. "I'm just nervous. What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing is going to go wrong," Handy assured.

"Have you smurfed the perimeter?"

"Yes."

"Is everyone accounted for?"

"Yes?"

"Is the buffet table still intact?"

"That's for the reception."

"Is it still up or not? I need to know this! What if something goes wrong? What if she says no? What if she smurfs me at the altar? What if - "

Handy's hand shot across Hefty's face.

"Thanks."

Handy rubbed his temples. "Heft, you're the groom. It's your big day. Just worry about smurfing the Smurfette of your dreams."

Hefty tried to relax, leaning against a toadstool. "Handy, do you think you'll get married one day?"

Handy's face flushed. "Um...um, well...hopefully that day will come for me. Why do you ask?"

"If you do, you'll smurf just as nervous as any other groom in the world. You can't wait to see that gorgeous girl that you've loved since day one right next to you, knowing that she's the One. But you're terrified that nothing will go as smurfed."

"Well of course it won't."

Hefty shot him a look. "Thanks for the support, pal."

"No, I mean, nothing ever goes as smurfed. If you haven't smurfed that, where have you been for the past year?"

Hefty chuckled. "You got me there."

Smurfwillow knocked on the root behind them. "We're ready for you boys. Ready, Hefty?"

Hefty glanced at Handy for reassurance before nodding and following Smurfwillow to the altar.

* * *

"You look absolutely beautiful, Smurfette."

Smurfette glanced at herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time. "You think Hefty will like it?"

"Are you KIDDING?!" Smurfblossom squealed. "His jaw's gonna hit the floor. You'll go up to that altar and then he'll be all like 'Dang, girl, you so fine. I wanna have your baby.' And then you'll say 'Thanks handsome. Let's skip the wedding and just kiss already'."

"Blossom," Smurfstorm said. "Shut up."

Smurfette giggled, looking back in the mirror. "Okay, I'm ready."

She turned towards the curtain, the curtain that led to the altar. Smurflily smoothed out her veil and adjusted the flowers in her hair. She nodded and stepped aside to let Papa Smurf come to Smurfette's side. She nodded.

Smurfblossom jumped up and down in front of them. "I'm so _excited_!"

* * *

Hetfy stood with his back to the aisle. He wasn't supposed to look until Smurfette had gotten to the altar, but the anticipation was killing him. He heard the music playing behind him. His head turned instinctively. Handy whispered in his ear. "It's just Smurfblossom. She'll be out in a minute."

Smurfblossom was happily tossing whole flowers out of her basket and into the seats, shouting excitedly. "Flowers for you! Flowers for you! FLOWERS FOR **YOU!** "

The force of the flowers actually knocked Greedy out of his seat. Smurfblossom arrived at the altar. "Wedding officia-ta-tor! All flowers have been deployed!"

Hefty facepalmed. "Thanks, Blossom."

The music picked up into a wedding march. Hefty willed his eyes to stare straight ahead, so much that it was painful. He held them shut. Handy glanced over at the groom with a little concern. He glanced over his shoulder down the aisle and smirked.

He leaned into Hefty's ear. "Wait 'til you see her."

 _Oh, SMURF IT ALREADY!_ Hefty peeked over his shoulder, and his breathe caught in his throat.

* * *

Smurfette felt herself blush as Hefty turned to look at her. His eyes filled with absolute awe at the sight of her. At first, she thought she might not look presentable in his eyes, but the smile that followed was enough to make her smile as well. She stepped up the altar, Papa releasing her hand. She stared at her groom.

"You look...Oh, my smurf, you look amazing!" Hefty breathed.

"So do you."

Smurfwillow cleared her throat. Hefty and Smurfette stood at attention, awaiting the ceremony to begin.

"Dearly beloved: Smurfs, Smurfettes, creatures big and small, friends and loved ones, ...Brainy. We are gathered here to celebrate an occasion that hasn't been celebrated in over 1000 years. I never thought I'd see the day it'd happen, but here we are. And here they are. And we have them to thank. Now, you two, it's time for you to talk about that."

She stepped back, letting them speak. Hefty chuckled.

"I know that all this is really a bit much. We've only been together for a short time."

"Only 20 years, Hefty," Smurfette reminded.

"No, I mean...when I heard that you didn't want to get married all those months ago, I thought that I'd never smurf to this point. But, later, I realized that I'm happy when you're happy. And if that wasn't with me, then I'd be fine with that. But, as long as you'll have me, not even any smelly old wizard will smurf us apart. And if they try, we'll beat them up together!"

Smurfette giggled. What was she to say? There was so much.

"Hefty...when I was created, I had a sole purpose like an endless stream smurfing in one direction. And, even when I was smurfed the light, my path was dark. But, after all I've been through with you, you've opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities. I can see myself smurfing anyone I want to be with you, and had you not been the one to have first smurfed me in the forest, I don't think I would have that choice now!"

Hefty stared at her with tears in his eyes. The rest of the audience stared in complete awe. She took his hands.

"What I'm saying is, you smurfed my life. And now, I'm smurfing your life. So, are you in?"

He squeezed her hands, nodding.

"Nat," Smurfwillow proceeded. "The rings."

Nat handed over the rings, letting Hefty and Smurfette slip them onto each other's fingers.

"So, do you, Hefty Smurf, take Smurfette as your wife until death do you part?"

"I smurf!"

"And, do you, Smurfette—?"

"Yes!"

Smurfwillow frowned. "You didn't let me finish, hon."

Smurfette blushed. "I'm just really excited."

"Then by the power vested in me, by the nation of which will one day be Belgium, I now pronounce you Smurf and Wife!"

The two wasted no more time and flung themselves together. The crowd applauded for the happy couple. Even Grouchy managed to crack a smile. They finally pulled apart and rushed back down the aisle.

"Mazel tov!" Smurfblossom cried.

* * *

Smurfette held the bouquet in both hands as she stood with Hefty on the dance floor. She handed it to Hefty to do the honors. He turned to the group of anxious Smurfettes waiting to catch it and threw it into the air. They watched it, waiting for it to come down. But it seemed the trees above had other plans.

"It'll come down eventually."

Smurfette shrugged and dragged him into the dance floor.

"So far, so good. Don't you think?" he asked. "I mean, nothing's destroyed yet."

She giggled. "Well, the reception isn't over yet. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. I meant everything I smurfed at the altar. I am willing to commit, because I love you. Now, I'm trying to see what the future has for us."

"why don't we just focus on now?"

She nodded in agreement. "At least, without you and the others, I don't think I would have smurfed it this far."

She looked over at Clumsy, Brainy, and Smurfstorm chatting. The bouquet dropped on Brainy's head and into his hands. He looked up in confusion.

"Well, if we're smurfing about the future, I can't wait to smurf you my honeymoon ideas."

The music suddenly stopped. The two turned and simultaneously groaned. Brainy was discussing something with the band, until they started playing and he started singing nonsense.

"I was wondering when he was going to do something embarrassing." Hefty said, but he clapped anyway.

"Let him have his moment."

They went back to dancing with each other, not a care in the world. Snappy snacked on the large bowl of bird seed.

"Snappy, that seed isn't for you," Sassette admonished. "It's for Feathers."

"Smurf him!" he spat birdseed onto her face. Feathers grabbed him in his beak. "AAH! Put me down! The Great Smurf commands you!"

Papa and Smurfwillow approached the happy couple as they were finishing their dance.

"Congratulations, you two!" Smurfwillow commended.

"So, how many smurflings shall we see smurfing around?" Papa asked

Smurfette and Hefty both went bright red. Smurfwillow nudged Papa. "Don't rush them, Papa Thing."

Smurfette chuckled nervously. "Well, we aren't sure if it's possible. But, who knows?"

The two elder smurfs exchanged glances, then shrugged and changed the topic. Hefty let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. The idea of kids with Smurfette—absolutely, no question! But, was it even possible? And, could it potentially be dangerous for her? He glanced at her as she talked with the other guests. He shook his head. It would wait. They'd have plenty of time to talk about it.

* * *

At the end of the night, Hefty carried Smurfette bridal style (officially) to Feathers and set her on his back. He hopped on and waved back to everyone as Feathers took off, ribbons streaming from his legs. He flew higher until he disappeared over the horizon with the newlyweds on his back.

Brainy still held the smothered bouquet in his hands. Smurfblossom slinked up to him. "Hey, Brainy."

He glanced at her, blushing at how close she was. He cleared his throat. "After much consideration, Smurfblossom, I have decided to smurf some free time for myself in the library. You are welcome to join me if you—."

She kissed him on the cheek, silencing him. "I'd love to!"

* * *

 _ **Hooray for the wedding! I left Smurfette's wedding dress purposefully ambiguous because I don't have a solid picture in my head, and I'm sure most of you have different ones in yours. Also, Brainy singing like an idiot, the song that inspired that can be heard from here:**_

watch?v=EkcZey8OpO8


	27. Chapter 27

_Just a bedroom-oneshot. Don't be mad at me, but I will make up for it. Promise._

* * *

Smurfette lay on the bed, staring out onto the ocean. It was warm here, much warmer than in the village. The perfect getaway. Hefty was showering in the bathroom, leaving his new wife to watch the sunset. She breathed in the fresh ocean air. Everything was so peaceful. But her mind thought back to her dream.

 _"He can only protect you so much..."_

Smurfette gripped the sheets.

 _"_ _The next few events of your life will pass peacefully..."_

She shook her head, willing the voices away. They seemed so real. What were they trying to tell her?

" _He is not gone."_

"Smurfette?" She rolled onto her side, Hefty staring at her with a towel wrapped around his lower half. She blushed. She'd never really seen him like this. "You okay?"

She nodded, red crawling up her cheeks. He looked down at himself and blushed as well. "Is...Am I...Are you uncomfortable?"

She blinked. "No! No. I'm not uncomfortable. I'm just a little surprised. You and I both know we've never smurfed this before."

"To be honest, I don't even know what we're smurfing," he confessed. "I smurfed from some elves that it means 'becoming one with your partner'. Whatever that means."

Hefty maneuvered over to the dresser for some nightclothes. Smurfette glanced down at the bed, then at the sea. "Hefty...? Do you want smurflings?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Smurfette, I wouldn't want anything more than to have smurflings with you."

"Really?"

He nodded, abandoning the dresser and climbing in bed with her. "Of course! I don't know if it's safe, or even it's possible. But, if Smurfs before us have smurfed it before, then I see no reason why we can't."

His towel dropped to the floor. Smurfette averted her eyes away from what was under the sheets. "Hefty, you're naked."

He yelped and snatched his towel off the ground. He chuckled nervously, blushing. "I'll...smurf on some nightclothes. Then we may lie together." He kissed her cheek and down her neck before moving back to the dresser, the towel wrapped around his abdomen.

Smurfette chuckled sheepishly, turning her gaze back to the crashing waves. It was a relief that Hefty was willing to accept the role of a father, but something about having kids made her stomach uneasy with fear. She couldn't quite put her finger on it; but she was afraid for herself and Hefty, and her future children. She sighed as Hefty crawled back into bed.

"Well?"

She rolled over to face him and kissed his cheek. "Come to me."


	28. Chapter 28

Brainy flipped through the book he was reading, glancing up every so often to look at Smurfblossom. She was tapping her feet on the arm of the chair, completely engrossed with the book of fairytales Brainy had reluctantly agreed to letting her read. He reached for his journal.

" _December 18th, progression with the experiment is smurfing optimally. The subject is pursuing activities in which the partner enjoys and vice versa. The subject smurfs some odd behavioral differences such as timidity, blushing, and eyelash-fluttering. Other symptoms include palpitation of the heart, sweating, mood smurfs, and desires of physical pleasure. More on this later."_

"Hey, Brainy? Do you know when Hefty and Smurfette will come back?"

"Hard to know, Smurfblossom. The concept of the newly-wedded in an enigma. They could be gone for days or possibly years."

"I hope not. Smurfette's my best friend, and she would never leave us for that long, at least not without saying goodbye or "I love you" or "Adios" or "Auf Wiedersehen" or—"

"Smurfblossom, what have we smurfed about the rambling?"

"Sorry."

"We are merely in practice. You will learn."

She shrugged and went back to her book. She was surprisingly quiet during her fictional readings, unlike most activities including science, which Brainy found a bit disappointing. But, nevertheless, these newfound experiments were proving beneficiary.

Her head suddenly whipped around, looking in the direction of the window. "Look! Do you hear that?"

Brainy furrowed his brow to decipher her statement, but she flew out of her seat and into the street. He scrambled after her, noticing the entire block spilling out into the street. He adjusted his glasses and found the source of their excitement. Hefty helped Smurfette off of Feathers as the crowd drew nearer.

 _Oh Smurf!_

He closed his eyes against every face that clamored to reach him, asking more questions than Brainy could think of in a day. Smurfette merely giggled and greeted all of her new friends as if there wasn't anything new. She was adapting so well, and he'd never seen her this happy.

"SMURFETTE!"

Smurfette grunted as she was tackled to the ground and bear-hugged by Smurfblossom. "I missed you too, Blossom."

Smurfblossom picked Smurfette back up to her feet. "Oh, how was it? Where did you go? Did you see Paris? Rome? The Caribbeans? The World's Tallest Rock?"

"You mean a mountain?"

"Yeah! A rock! Were there trees? Were there beaches? Did those beaches have mermaids? Or shells? Or - Sorry, I'm rambling again. Brainy told me not to."

Smurfette shook her head. "You shouldn't have to smurf that for Brainy."

"But he likes it when I'm quiet."

"Then tell him."

Speak of the devil, Brainy pushed through the crowd. "Well, if it isn't the happy couple finally returning from their prolonged vacation."

"Brainy," Hefty sighed. "Can't you smurf us a break? It was our honeymoon."

"I know, I know. I smurf with you," Brainy reassured. "But, there are some things that I would like to...discuss with you two."

The two glanced at each other, sighed, and said in unison. "Fine."

* * *

Smurfette sat down on the stool as Brainy shut the door. What was it now? She was finally relaxed.

"So, did you do it?"

Smurfette and Hefty shared a glance.

"Do what?"

"You know... _it._ "

Smurfette's cheeks flushed. Hefty turned away. Brainy stood impatiently by the door while Smurfblossom rocked on her heels. "Well?"

"I don't know!" Hefty finally said.

Brainy raised his brow. "What do you mean, you don't know? It's a yes or no smurf."

"Brainy, do you even know how to do it?" Hefty asked dryly.

Brainy rolled his eyes. "Of course not. No Smurf has ever - Oh..."

"See our problem, here?" Brainy nodded.

Smurfette moaned. "I don't know if it's even possible. You guys know I wasn't made a real Smurf, with real...smurfs."

Hefty nodded, seeing it reasonable. Brainy adjusted his glasses. "Come this way, Smurfette."

He lifted his ugly shag rag and opened the trapdoor. Hefty yanked them back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you sure this is safe?"

"I am 95% sure," Brainy said. "Smurf's honor."

"Not sure if I like those odds."

Brainy led Smurfette down anyway. "It's smurfectly safe. Just don't make any loud noises or you'll wake the gnome."

Hefty sucked in a nervous breath, heading down after them. The hole was dark, and it smelled like chemicals. Brainy pulled a lever, and the lights switched on. A huge array of tables with tubes and wires lay in the dirt. Dozens of machines were being powered by underwater rivers and a poor little gerbil. And, sure enough, there was a gnome sleeping in a cage in the corner.

Brainy positioned her onto a table with paper on it. "Hold still and stay right there."

He ran over to a panel not far from were she sat, Hefty coming up behind him. A large screen maneuvered in front of her, blocking her view of the two Smurfs. Brainy pressed a button, and the screen glowed.

Hefty yelped.

"What? What is it?"

"Nothing, Smurfette." He couldn't worry her, but seeing her skeleton on the screen scared the smurf out of him.

Brainy hummed. "Too much." He pressed a few more buttons, the image focusing until her inner organs could be seen. "Yes!"

The inside of life was disgusting, Hefty decided. Brainy drew closer, grabbing a stick. He pointed to her abdomenal area. "Just as I thought. Healthy, functioning female organs."

Hefty cringed. There had to be some limits for this smurf, right? Hefty pried his eyes away out of respect. Brainy rolled his eyes, walking back to the panel and shutting it off. Smurfette emerged from behind the screen.

"Everything is as it should be," Brainy proclaimed.

"So..." Smurfette started. "We _can_ have smurflings naturally."

"Of course but - "

Smurfette didn't listen. She squealed with delight, jumping into Hefty's arms. A sudden jerk silenced them.

"RUN!"

* * *

Fireman Smurf and the Smurfettes on dragonflies worked to extinguish the flames of Brainy's hut. Brainy himself was receiving a scolding from Papa, which he deserved. Smurfette and Hefty were about to retire as well, not wanting any more chaos. But Handy stopped them on the road.

"I know it's a little late, but I thought I'd smurf you your wedding present now."

"Handy," Smurfette said gently. "It's getting late."

"I know, come on."

Handy took off in the opposite direction of their huts. Hefty shrugged and followed after him, Smurfette close behind. Handy was playing the bad actor, searching for something.

"Now, where could I have smurfed it? I'm sure it was around here somewhere."

"You're a _bad_ bad actor, Hand," Hefty stated.

"I'm trying to re-smurf my steps here." He stopped at a small section of willow trees. "Oh my. What's that?"

Smurfette and Hefty gasped. A large toadstool hut, three times the size of any other hut, was nestled under the willows, a frozen pond behind it, with icicles starting to form on the eaves of the roof. It was beautiful.

"Handy!" Smurfette gasped.

"Don't thank me, Smurfette. It was a pleasure to make."

She almost cried. "But what about our things? Hefty's barbels, his equipment, my wardrobe, my gardening supplies, our beds - "

"All moved in," Handy assured. "Beautiful area overlooking the pond and forest, hardwood interior flooring, four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a full-size kitchen, and ... a personal, private gym."

Hefty's eyes lit up. He pulled Handy into a hug he didn't see coming.

"Okay, this is happening. Okay, you're starting to crush me. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Hefty finally set him down and pulled Smurfette to his side. "Ready to make it official?"

"Let's do it."


	29. Chapter 29

**I am back and I bring you fluff!**

* * *

Smurfette woke up to the light streaming into her room. She covered her eyes against the bright light, but noticed the light was coming in on the wrong side. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and realizing that she was in her new house. Her and Hefty's new house. She also realized that she was cold. She looked down. Her nightgown had slipped off her arms and was sliding down her chest.

 _Weird,_ she thought. She hurriedly pulled the sleeves back on and fell back into bed, not ready to get up just yet.

* * *

 _Was it always like this?_ she thought, hauling some acorns through the streets. The paths and houses were decorated for Christmas, wreaths and lights and bows hanging from every nook and cranny while snow piled on top of the houses and fences.

It was normal.

 _Weird. Normal hasn't happened in a while, I guess._

She dragged the sled of acorns through the streets to where Handy, Grouchy, and a few other Smurfs were still decorating the enormous Christmas tree. She dropped them off, thanked them, and headed back to her house, stopping halfway when she remembered that her house was now in the opposite direction.

She shook the snow put of her hair as she closed the door. Hefty was in the kitchen.

"Hey!"

"Hi! You're making dinner?"

He shrugged. "I know how to smurf a few meals, Smurfette. I'm more than just a pretty face."

"I never really doubted you," she said, hanging up her coat. "I just think it's sweet. You didn't have to do that."

He shrugged, getting some plates. "No, I didn't. I also don't gave to help everyone out and keep Brainy from getting eaten by a lizard, but I do it."

He put the food on the table and sat down. She helped herself. Hefty was...actually a decent chef.

"Well?" he asked.

She chuckled. "Well, you're no Chef Smurf but it's not bad. Pretty good, actually."

"You have big eyes again." he noticed. "What's wrong?"

"It's just...surreal. I don't know any other way to smurf it." She rolled a berry across her plate. "I've saved the village more in the past year than the rest of the village has in a decade. And, now we're married and we're smurfing a new life...it's weird smurfing back to normal life."

Hefty grinned. "I guess. I mean, I'd say it's a relief."

"Oh, well I'm not saying that it isn't."

"Then, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's..." she shrugged. "Odd. And, I'm still smurfing used to it."

He held her hand from across the table. "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Smurfette smiled, going back to her breakfast. Hefty still held her hand in silence, eating uneasily as he watched her.

"Smurfette, I want to smurf to you about something."

"What about?" she asked.

"...Brainy told me that you've been smurfing some...odd dreams."

She swallowed. "Yes?"

"So..." he cleared his throat. "He smurfed some tests on me and - "

"You let him?"

"Let me finish, please." He requested. "He smurfed some tests and...well, he didn't find anything you had. It's all completely strange."

Smurfette leaned back in her chair. So, the Blue Moon had nothing to with what was happening? Then, what was going on? Did it have something to do with her past? Did it have something to do with...Gargamel?

"Smurfette?"

She blinked. "I'm okay. I'm alright."

Hefty stared at her with concern, not sure if he can help her. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest.

"Hmmm...hey, what do you say we visit Mother Nature?"

"What for?"

"So we can figure out how to have kids."

Smurfette blushed inexplicably. She didn't know why, but the subject of actually making children was...unsettling. She didn't even know how to describe it. It just seemed easier when the storks simply dropped off a new baby every so often.

She nodded and stood up, hugging him. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	30. Chapter 30

**Be warned! I warned you!**

* * *

Smurfette stood outside the hut, bundled up as tightly as possible. Hefty shut the door behind them, ready to go to Mother Nature's cottage.

"You sure she'll be there?" Smurfette asked.

"Of course she will," Hefty assured. "The woman's the mistress of nature. And nature is smurf without her."

Smurfette nodded and pulled her coat closer. Hefty wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led the way out of the village. They were close to the border, but -

"Hefty, a smurf of your time?"

Hefty stopped, his brow twitching. He turned around slowly to meet Brainy. " _What?_ "

"If now is not a bad time - "

"Brainy, we're in the middle of something," Smurfette told him.

"But, I - "

Hefty stomped over to Brainy, nearly towering over him. Brainy whimpered.

"Y-You...you wouldn't hit a Smurf with glasses, would you?"

Hefty snatched Brainy's glasses off his face, slapped them across his face, and put them back on.

"You hit a Smurf _with_ glasses. That's...touche."

Hefty groaned, frustrated and sick of having to deal with Brainy. "Brainy, for once, can't you smurf your own business? Please?!"

Brainy cowered a bit. Smurfette sighed, pulling Hefty out of his face. She adjusted Brainy's glasses.

"Tell us what it is, Brainy. Quickly."

"...Smurfblossom has requested that we engage in a meeting at an agreed time and place of the romantic sort."

Hefty and Smurfette stared at him. Hefty glanced at his wife, shrugging. She sighed. "Smurfblossom asked him out on a date."

"Oh!"

"And all my research has brought me to the conclusion that if I were to attend this rendezvous, I would be completely unprepared and the situation would escalate into a level of such humiliation that I couldn't bear to smurf my face in the village again."

"Brainy, are you nervous?" Smurfette asked sympathetically.

Brainy laughed. "No, Smurfette. It's just the equation coupled with the workings of the brain and - "

"You know it's completely fine to be nervous, right?" Hefty reminded him.

"I am absosmurfly _not_ nervous," Brainy repeated.

The two newly-weds exchanged glances.

"Okay, I'm nervous! What do you want from me?!" Brainy admitted. "It's only...I've tried using logic and science to explain the phenomenon in my brain, but none of it smurfs together. All I know is her and she admires my intelligence."

Smurfette smiled, glancing at Hefty. He blushed, but was looking at the ground. She giggled. "Brainy, just be yourself. That's all a girl wants."

Hefty shook his head behind her back. Brainy stood in the snow, confused as ever. Smurfette rolled her eyes.

"Just try not to get your ego too inflated. This is about her. Make her feel special."

Hefty tapped her shoulder. "Smurfette, let's go."

She sighed. "Just make sure she has a good time. And that always happens." She hugged him and followed Hefty towards the woods. "You'll do great!"

She snapped her head back to Hefty. "What?"

"Why did you smurf in his face like that?"

Hefty shrugged. "I was tired of him smurfing in _my_ face. It's always 'Hefty, a smurf of your time? Hefty, a smurf of your time?'. It's annoying. I have a lot more to do now that I'm - "

"Married?" She held his arm, making him blush.

"Um...yeah. I have...someone else to think about other than myself."

She kissed his cheek. "That's okay. But, just tell him _politely._ I know Brainy is not one to...listen. Or, even hear. But, he still cares about you as a friend."

"I'll worry about it later."

"If you say so."

* * *

Hefty pounded on the door. "Hello? Anyone home? It's the Smurfs?"

Smurfette shivered. "Hefty, I don't think she's home."

He shivered, pulling his scarf closer. "I'm sure she just...had something to do."

"You've been smurfing on the door for 20 minutes!"

Hefty sighed, rubbing his hands together.

"Let's just smurf back to the village and check in tomorrow." Smurfette suggested.

Hefty stood there in silence, looking around for something. He finally set his eyes on a hole in the door frame, about three apples high. He ducked down and squeezed through it.

"Hefty!" She slid through the opening, trying to pull him back. He pulled her in, and she landed on her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

It was completely dark, but it was warm. Nothing was moved, everything was in order, and nothing was in the room save for a small cauldron on the table. Hefty hoisted himself onto the stool, pulling his wife with him. He helped her up to the table and pulled himself up. Smurfette approached the cauldron with caution. Steam poured out of it like water from a bowl.

It suddenly lit up, making her gasp. The head of Mother Nature materialized in the mist, looking at them.

"Welcome to my hut. Unfortunately, I am not here at the moment. If you are here to request a climate change, pour powder one into the cauldron."

Smurfette looked at the line of powders beside the cauldron.

"If you are seeking refuge from a royal fox hunt, powder two. If you're Hefty Smurf and Smurfette, powder three - "

Smurfette grabbed a handful of the middle powder and dumped it in. The mist spoke to them again.

"Little Smurfs, congratulations. I apologize for not being at your wedding. Unfortunately, I am attending the nature festival in Australia and I won't be back until spring. But, I do know why you have come. Having children will happen for you, as it has always come in the laws of nature. Simply take the potion behind the cauldron, and you will know."

Smurfette beamed and hugged Hefty.

"But," the apparition said. "There is something that is to be known. The laws of nature are delicate things. Break them, and the consequences could be great."

Smurfette glanced at Hefty. "What?"

"One more time, deary. The laws of nature are delicate things. Break them, and the consequences could be great. Goodbye! I'll see you next spring."

The apparition faded, and the two Smurfs were left in the dark. Hefty bent behind the cauldron and picked up the tiny vial of clear liquid. Smurfette wrung her hands.

"What was all that?" she asked.

Hefty shrugged. "I have no idea." He held up the vial, reading the label. "To use, take one sip and lie in bed. Side effects could include itching, burning, and excess release of endorphins."

Smurfette bit her lip. "I'm scared. Are we going against nature?"

Hefty pulled her to his chest. "of course not, Smurfette. You heard her. It's always been in the laws of nature...whatever that means."

Smurfette stared at the vial. "I just don't know when I should take it."

Hefty pulled her chin up to look at him. "If you want this..."

She sighed. She did want this. She wanted to be a mother. The mother of his smurflings. As frightened as she was, she was more determined than ever. SHe nodded to him and made her way back down the table.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Hefty asked.

Smurfette rolled onto her side. Hefty laid next to her, the vial in his hand. She reached over and held the vial with him. "Let's do this."

He drank a sip, then gave it to her. She took her drink. It didn't taste like anything. She didn't feel anything. She put the bottle on the nightstand and laid back down. Hefty gazed at her lovingly.

"What?"

"I'm just thinking about how pretty you look." he said.

She inched closer, a sense of desire washing over her. "Tell me more."

Hefty did more than tell. He showed her. He showed her all that he could of him. And meanwhile, while they were in their beds, Brainy and Smurfblossom sat on a bench in the square, only illuminated by a decorated lamppost. She inched closer, putting her hand on the wood. Brainy slipped his hand into hers, and she blushed.


	31. Chapter 31

As she laid in the bed, Smurfette blinked her eyes open. Last night had been another one of many where she and Hefty had tried the potion, and subsequently blacked out. She was always left with no memory of what transpired the night before. The only clue was the fact she seemed to be missing some clothes. All of them were intact this morning.

But she felt...off. She rolled over on her side and noticed that the sun was already over the treeline. How long had she slept in?! She threw off the covers and turned to stand up, but instantly stumbled back into the wall. Her stomach heaved, but she'd eaten nothing. She covered her mouth as she stumbled into the bathroom and finally threw up. She moaned, pressing her face against the sink. She washed out her mouth.

 _What was that?_ she asked herself. Her stomach still churned unpleasantly, but she thought nothing of it. It was probably a stomach bug. She dragged herself to her closet and got herself dressed. She stumbled down the stairs, glancing at the kitchen. A plate of fruit and half-cooked eggs. She smiled. Hefty had made her breakfast. Her stomach still felt unsettled, so she picked two grapes from their stem and popped them in her mouth.

She stepped outside, pulling on her coat. The late winter sun was shining down. If it was that high in the sky, she must have overslept for hours. She made her way towards the windmill at the end of the path. Hefty, Farmer, and Smurfhazel were there heaving wheat into the hole to make grain. She journeyed over as fast as her stomach would let her and called out a greeting.

"Hey, Smurfette!" Hefty ran over, passing another bushel of wheat to Smurfhazel. "Are you feeling okay? You were sleeping so late."

"I'm fine, Hefty. I don't know why I overslept." It wasn't a complete lie. She had no idea why she was nauseous, but she didn't feel like it was something to worry about. "Anything I can do?"

"I think Greedy said he needed help smurfing more flour," Hefty said. "I'm a little busy, but do you think you can handle it?"

She playfully punched him in the shoulder. "If I can handle living with you, I can handle a few smurfs of flour."

They chuckled before they went their separate ways and Smurfette made her way to Greedy's hut. Greedy was behind his hut, directing a couple of dragonflies where to drop the flour. Smurfette went to his side, and he jumped. The flour bags suddenly dropped, the dragonflies scattering. Powder covered both of their faces, Smurfette coughing.

"Sorry, Greedy."

"That's alright, Smurfette. The snow with cover most of the damage." He stooped to pick up a bag, Smurfette rushing to help him. Her arms instantly cramped up. Usually with Greedy's help, she could carry these bags just fine. But she was already out of breath by the time they'd taken two steps. They finally dropped the first bag onto the floor.

"Are you okay, Smurfette?" Greedy put his hand to her forehead, to which she pushed it away. "You seem tired today."

"I'm...I'm fine, really." She put on her bravest face, but she could tell that Greedy was not entirely convinced. "Let's just keep working."

"If you say so..."

They spent the next few hours heaving the rest of the bags into Greedy's hut. Smurfette's arms were becoming brittle, her back painfully twisting. She tried her best to mask her pain because she knew that she couldn't just be useless. As the last of Greedy's flour was hauled in, Smurfette was at her breaking point, ready to snap in half. Greedy wiped his brow.

"Whew! That's the last of them. But all working has smurfed me up an appetite! Want some lunch, Smurfette?"

She wanted to say no. The painful workout had agitated her stomach further, and she felt that she wouldn't be able to hold down much at this rate. But, she was so hungry. She hadn't eaten at all save for a few grapes. She couldn't just starve to death.

"Sure, Greedy."

He jumped up and ran to his oven to bring out the bread he was baking. Smurfette sat down, gasping for air. The smell of bread and cakes were heavy in the air. Heavier than normal. She could smell every fruit in the pies. She wanted them so badly. Her mind screamed that she wanted those pies. She began to daydream: blueberry cupcakes dipped in chocolate with bananas, gingerbread with nutmeg and sarsaparilla, hot coffee with peanuts and mulberries...

"Here ya go, Smurfette."

A sandwich, smurfberries, and a glass of water were set in front of her. She shoved the smurfberries into her mouth, washing it down with some water. The sandwich, however, she was a bit more hesitant with. She took one bite and instantly felt like puking. She forced herself to swallow and smiled at Greedy, who was staring at her wide-eyed. She stood.

"Well, I should probably get back to work, then." She turned to leave.

"Wait, Smurfette. I'm a little worried. You haven't been smurfing like yourself today. Maybe you should smurf it easy for the rest of the day."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Greedy, for the last time, I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about, really."

Greedy knitted his eyebrows with worry as she turned for the door. Her stomach made a show of twisting painfully. She held back the urge to throw up, but her vision was getting blurry. Her head was spinning. She finally stumbled out the door, collapsed into the snow, and threw up. Greedy ran out as soon as he heard her coughing. She looked up at him helplessly before falling back into the snow.

* * *

Smurfette woke to a white ceiling with tacky bluebird paintings. It took her a minute to realize that she had fainted and was now in the infirmary. She sat up as much as she could and looked around. She could hear voices from outside, talking anxiously. She could make out Papa, Smurfwillow, and Hefty, but also a few others. She tried to sit up, but her head started to spin and she landed back on the pillow. She pulled the blankets closer as the door opened, a cold wind blowing in.

"Smurfette?" Hefty's voice was almost unnoticeable over the icy wind. "Smurfette, are you awake?"

She peeked over the covers and nodded. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "I-I-I..." Her voice was so raspy. Hefty handed her a glass of water, which she gratefully drained. "I don't know. I was...I was feeling really sick this morning. I was throwing up. How did I get here?"

"Greedy smurfed for help after he saw you faint. He said you were tired today." She nodded admittedly and pulled the blanket closer. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was that bad..." she answered.

Hefty brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "It'll be okay. We've sent someone to get Mother Nature. She can help us with this."

"Papa and Smurfwillow...don't know what's going on?"

He shook his head. "Papa has no idea. Smurfwillow, I'm not sure. Don't you worry. We'll take care of everything, okay?"

She nodded and accepted a quick kiss before he exited the hut, leaving Smurfette to her bed. Thoughts swirled in her head. What was wrong with her? Did Smurfwillow really know or not? When would...

She fell back asleep before she could finish her thoughts, her stomach still weak.

* * *

Smurfette sat up in her bed as the lights came on. Hefty gathered some pillows behind her and offered her another glass of water. He took a seat at the foot of the bed, Smurfwillow and Smurfblossom in the room to keep them calm. Smurfette tried her best to feel comforted, even though Blossom's song was starting to give her a slight headache. She cuddled herself into Hefty's shoulder. Papa Smurf finally returned with a guest.

"Right in here, my lady."

A human-like woman the size of a Smurf stepped inside the hospital. She wore a long, white bell-bottomed dress and held a star-shaped wand.

"Who's that, Willow?" Smurfblossom asked.

"Mother Nature..." Smurfette breathed.

Mother Nature smiled warmly at the Smurfs and stepped over beside Smurfette, her skirts rustling behind her.

"How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Sick..." Smurfette moaned.

"How so?" Mother Nature inquired gently.

"I've been throwing up, for one," Smurfette explained. "and I'm lightheaded. I got tired really easily when I was working. And, at lunch I started craving foods no one in their right mind would smurf, like gingerbread with sarsaparilla and nutmeg!"

Mother Nature nodded, smiling warmly. Why was she smiling? Why could she see that something was wrong?!

"D-Didn't you hear me?! I'm _dying! I'm dying!"_ Tears streamed down Smurfette's face, Hefty holding her.

"Smurfette, calm down. It's okay."

"NO, IT'S NOT!"

"Smurfette, my dear." Mother Nature stroked Smurfette's hair lovingly. "Your husband is right. You have nothing to fear. This is a joyous occasion."

"W-Why?" Smurfette stammered.

"Yeah. Could somebody smurf us in here?" Hefty asked.

Papa and Smurfblossom glanced at each other in confusion. Smurfwillow gasped. "But, that's impossible..."

"Smurfette...you're going to have a baby."


	32. Chapter 32

News spread quickly around the village, mainly because Smurfblossom couldn't keep her mouth shut to save herself. Smurfette didn't really care this time. She wanted everyone to know, at least from someone else. She stayed in the infirmary for three days, the first of which listening to Mother Nature explaining what to expect and what to do. Smurfette was starting to feel a bit anxious, now in full understanding that the baby was growing inside of her. But when Mother Nature turned to Hefty, the room lightened with a sort of humor.

"You, my friend, are going to have your hands full," she said cheekily.

Hefty raised an eyebrow. "W-Wha-What?"

"When a woman is carrying a child," Mother Nature explained. "She is unable to do as many things. She's going to need your utmost support! And that means tending to her cravings, mood swings, and most of her physical activity."

Hefty gulped at cravings and mood swings, but at physical activity he said:

"Meh."

Smurfette giggled, masking her worry. Mother Nature had also describing how long the pregnancy would last: nine months. She almost started bawling. Throwing up and craving inedible foods for nine months sounded like torture.

"Oh, but my dear. Your symptoms will change as your baby develops. The nausea and dizziness will go away within a few weeks."

Smurfette heaved a sigh of relief. She'd still have to endure a few weeks of throwing up, but not for the entire nine months. Mother Nature stood up and headed for the door.

"Remember, my little Smurfs. I will be here whenever you need me."

And, with that, she waved her wand and vanished. Hefty blinked. "She couldn't have just used the door?"

"Well, no matter what happens," Smurfwillow stood up, taking Smurfette's hand. "we're here for you."

Smurfette smiled, thankful that after so many new experiences thrust upon them all, Willow was willing to really bring them back again. Smurfette finally rested on the pillow, weary after everything she'd been told. She needed to process it. In response to her unasked question, Hefty stood up and politely shooed them out the door.

"You're having a baby, my love," he whispered into her ear.

"We're having a baby," she corrected as she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Winter slowly thawed to spring. Smurfette's episodes of nausea and dizziness subsided, much to everyone's relief. She'd spent two months doing nothing but staying home and working around the house. It was alright, but not ideal to her. She desperately wanted to work with everyone else, but with the number of times her stomach got its way, it didn't seem likely for a while. She was also tired very easily, not able to make it up the stairs without being out of breath. It was getting annoying and she would sometimes scream into a pillow or cry from the frustration, which she usually tried not to do.

Despite all of this, the news that no one in a thousand years ever thought would happen again: she was having a baby. Her baby. Hefty's baby. Their baby. She could tell everyone else was just as excited about the news. Whenever she did go out, everyone would ask her questions, telling her how excited they were to meet the baby in a few months. It warmed her heart.

It also activated her stomach.

She swore she'd never had such a reaction to food. No one could see her eating the things she did, not even Greedy. But she asked for them:

"I'm sorry, Smurfette. Did I smurf you correctly?" Chef asked. "You said you wanted bacon, lemons, and gorgonzola cheese on your sandwich?"

She nodded. "Oh, and if you have any salad dressing, could you smurf that on the side?"

Chef darted his eyes into the kitchen before nodding and slowly backing into kitchen. She tapped her foot, trying not to let herself become too impatient. She found that she was also very emotional, more than she wanted to admit. But Mother Nature had warned them about this. Chef returned a few minutes later with the meal on a dish.

"Here's your...sandwich...Smurfette."

She happily took it and started back towards her house. "Thanks, Chef."

She set the meal on her table, after entering the house, and dug in. What she didn't realize was Hefty bench-pressing in the other room. He walked out to greet her, but he gagged at the smell.

"Um, Smurfette? Is everything okay in there?"

"Hmm?" Smurfette looked over her shoulder. "Oh, hi Hefty. I'm smurfy, just smurfing some lunch."

He slowly approached the table and sat down, curiously examining Smurfette's food.

"Um...what are you eating?"

"Well, I just had a sudden craving for bacon bits, lemon slices, and gorgonzola cheese on rye bread with salad dressing. Chef made that same face."

Hefty darted his eyes. "I...have no idea what you're talking about."

Her face suddenly fell. "You don't think it's weird, right?"

"What? No!" He tried to make sure he said the right thing in front of her. "It's not weird, it's great!"

She smiled and ran over to hug him. "Thanks."

* * *

"Um, Brainy, are you sure about this?"

Hefty pulled Brainy aside before he could lead him and Smurfette inside.

"I can assure you everything is smurfectly safe," Brainy said.

"That's what you said about the potato peeler." Hefty shuddered. "How could you have forgotten one screw on the blade?!"

Brainy smiled sheepishly. "At least no one was _seriously_ injured." Hefty sighed in frustration. "I actually took the smurf to test it this time. If you wanna see the ulcer I found in Grouchy's stomach - "

Hefty clamped Brainy's mouth shut before he could continue. "Just show us the gizmo."

Brainy finally opened the door for Smurfette, allowing her and Hefty inside. Brainy gestured to a large, cushioned lounge. Smurfette hesitantly slid onto the couch and relaxed. Brainy quickly wheeled in a strange looking box with a cord and a screen. He pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Alright, Smurfette. I'd like you to lift up your dress."

Smurfette blushed and sat straight up. Hefty gawked at Brainy. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Brainy, what the smurf?!"

Brainy shook his head, realizing where he smurfed up. "I should have explained myself. You see, how this works, this probe projects sound waves into the body, smurfing back echo waves which will appear on this screen."

Hefty and Smurfette glanced at each other.

"I still don't feel comfortable with this, Brainy," Smurfette whimpered. "Why do you want to use this on me?"

Brainy shrugged. "I thought you might want to see your baby."

Smurfette laid back down. "Where do we start?!"

Brainy chuckled and took a nearby sheet from his bed and draped it over her lower half. "I'd like you to lift up your dress."

Smurfette searched under the sheet for her dress and pulled it up, exposing her midriff. Brainy pulled out a tube and squeezed the contents onto Smurfette's stomach. She gasped as he rubbed the cold gel out with the probe.

"What is that for?"

"Oh, just to make sure I smurf directly to the tissue beneath the skin."

Hefty shook his head. "Brainy, this isn't going to be weird, is it?"

Brainy glanced at them and chuckled, not exactly answering his question. He rubbed the probe along Smurfette's stomach, and Smurfette stared at Hefty in confusion. She yelped a bit as he pressed harder.

"Okay," he said, staring at the monitor. "Just focusing...There we go!"

Hefty leaned over to catch a glimpse. It was a grainy black and white picture, but he could just barely make out the outline of...

"Is that...?"

Brainy nodded. "Yep, that's little Hefty Smurfling."

"Don't call it that," Smurfette ordered. "So we're able to see our baby?"

"Among other things," Brainy said. "Such as smurfing for a heartbeat, smurfing for any abnormalities, even the gender if you so smurf to know."

Smurfette nearly leaped out of her seat. "Can we find out now?"

"I can't see anything right now. It's probably going to take a little while longer until we can smurf the little guy, or girl, or - "

"Oh, Hefty," Smurfette couldn't contain herself. She cried into Hefty's shoulder. Hefty nodded to signal Brainy to leave. Brainy scooted his chair outside. "This is just...It's amazing."


	33. Chapter 33

_Smurfette was back on that hill, the same hill she always went to. Was she dreaming again? She rubbed her belly, which had just barely begun to show from under her dress. She felt the ever so slight movement from within her. She couldn't be dreaming._

 _The sun was high overhead, beaming down its warm glow on her and her baby. It felt so good, so calm. A sudden thunder shattered the peace, and rain poured down onto her. She scrabbled to her feet to run. She didn't know why she was running; she just had to run. She tripped as she went, droplets of muddy water flying into her mouth. She tried to spit them out, but they spilled down her throat. Her throat was on fire! She tried to scream but the pain was too much! The burning crawled from her throat to her stomach. She looked up helplessly at the rain and gasped._

 _She screamed as a thundering tornado ripped its way through the forest towards her._

* * *

Smurfette woke in a cold sweat, gasping. Her arms were shaking so hard she could barely move them. She glanced down at her baby bump. Everything felt normal; in fact, she felt fine. She tried to turn her head, but already found she was in someone's arms. She slowly brought her hands up to the arms around her neck.

"H-Hefty...?"

"Shh...It's okay, I've got you."

She held herself in his arms until she finally stopped shaking, settling back down into bed.

"You okay?" She nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head.

"I..." she whispered. "I think something terrible's going to happen."

Hefty sat up, staring at her with concern. "What makes you smurf that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's just...whenever I have dreams like that, something terrible happens. Like, when Smurfblossom nearly drowned, or when you were all kidnapped by Scruple. I can't smurf the feeling that something bad is coming."

Hefty pulled her into his lap. "If it makes you feel any better, you can do whatever you want in the morning. No work, no worries. Just relax, okay?"

"Don't you want me to do that anyway?" she asked playfully.

"Just go back to sleep, hon. And if you have any more bad dreams, I'm right here."

* * *

Smurfette didn't get too much sleep afterwards, unable to shake the nightmare out of her head. What did it mean? And why was she the only one who was getting them? She slipped out of bed before Hefty woke and collapsed on the couch, curled up in a blanket. No matter what she tried, her eyes would not close, the burning in her throat vivid in her mind.

As the sun peeked over the treeline, Smurfette heard a light turn on in the kitchen. Hefty was awake. She pulled the blanket closer to her as footsteps drew closer and she felt someone kiss her cheek.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. She shook her head. "Well, if you decide to get up, Sassette was wondering if you wanted to play smurfball with her and the smurflings."

She smiled, eager to be on her feet for once. "That'd be great."

* * *

"Ready, Smurfette?"

Smurfette stood her ground at the offense, Sassette standing at the goal behind her. She smirked at Snappy.

"Question is: are _you_ ready?" she asked back.

"Born ready!" He kicked the ball towards her. She caught it and kicked it across the field towards Nat. Nat tried to block it, but it flew into the goal.

"We weren't ready yet!" Snappy yelled.

Smurfette shrugged.

"Too scared to go against a girl, Snappy?" Sassette taunted.

Snappy growled. "Slouchy! Smurf back the score!" Slouchy snored from his spot in the shade. "Slouchy? SLOUCHY!"

Slouchy gasped and sat up. "Huh? Oh, yeah yeah. Um... 2 to smurf. Whatever."

Sassette laughed. Nat facepalmed as Snappy started kicking up dust and dirt in a fit of rage. Smurfette walked over to the sidelines and sat down, taking a drink of water. Sassette slid over.

"You okay, Smurfette?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Carrying a little baby smurf is harder than it looks."

Sassette bounced on her heels. "So, when is the baby coming? Tomorrow?"

Smurfette chuckled. "No, not tomorrow."

"The next day?"

"No, it'll be longer than that."

"Why?"

"Well, because this is different than storks. Smurfing babies...like this...takes a lot more time and smurf. And it's not easy."

"Oh..." Sassette laid down in the grass, her pigtails spread out. "Will it be a boy or a girl?"

Smurfette smiled. "What do you want the baby to be?"

"I hope it's a girl! It's great to have so many sisters, but sometimes...I just want someone to smurf dolls with." She held up her doll for Smurfette to see.

"Well, as long as I get a baby, I'll be happy."

Snappy finally stopped his tantrum and was kicking the ball back and forth with Nat. Slouchy had resumed napping.

"Are you gonna play with us more, Smurfette?" Sassette asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, just give me a few more minutes."

Sassette ran laughing back towards the field. Smurfette sighed, leaning back to relieve her aching legs. It was getting harder to move around, but she hated being glued to one spot all day. It was a dilemma to be sure. She watched as Sassette ran between Nat and Snappy, stealing the ball. The two smurfling boys chased after her, Nat swiping it to lead it back to their side of the court. Sassette slid back in, snatching it back.

"Haha!"

Snappy clenched his fists as he pursued her and finally kicked it away from her. The ball bounced off the goal's rim, into a tree, off of Slouchy's head, and into the woods behind the field. They whined.

"Why'd ya do that, Snappy?"

"Me?! You were the one who smurfed it from me, Sassette!"

Smurfette sighed, getting up to check on Slouchy.

"I'm okay, Smurfette. I'll get the ball." He stood to get up, but Smurfette pushed him back down. "You'll make yourself dizzy. Stay here. I'll get it."

Slouchy leaned back against the tree, relenting with ease. She rolled her eyes and slowly followed after where the ball had tumbled. It seemed to have gone pretty far, because she couldn't see it at first. She pressed on a bit further, the underbrush getting thicker. She finally shoved her way through some thick grass before she finally happened upon it.

"There you are." She knelt to pick it up, brushing some leaves and a parking ticket off of it.

She turned around. Had it been this dark before? It was barely noon. She looked up and gasped, dropping the ball as a thick hand wrapped around her.

"Well, hiya Smurfette." Scruple grinned.


	34. Chapter 34

Smurfette grunted as she was thrust into a cage. She tried her best to protect her stomach and fortunately she landed on her back. She sprang to her feet, rattling the bars as it swayed side to side with each step the young apprentice took.

"Let me go, Scruple!"

The little brat took no heed. Instead he picked up his pace and began to run. Further and further, the way back to the village disappeared. Dense forest lay up ahead. But, with the cage swinging back and forth, she was having trouble seeing straight. She held to the bars for dear life, one hand on the bars and the other over her slightly bulging stomach. She didn't know how she would get out of this, but once the nausea subsided, she'd figure someway out. Out of her peripheral vision, she thought she could see a few dragonflies whizzing over their heads.

Scruple slowed only for a moment to run through the tall grass, sending swarms of dragonflies into the air. He swatted at them to shoo. The cage swung less violently, giving Smurfette a chance to examine the lock. It was an old, rusty padlock that looked too worse for wear. She pulled one of her hairpins from her hair and tried the lock. She winced and pulled out her hand, scratched across the top. No use; she was trapped.

Scruple picked up his pace, Smurfette cursing in her head. They must have been really far now. Who knew how far Scruple would keep running? She felt her grip slip and she flew to the other side of the cage, the breath knocked out of her as her back hit iron. The boy had stopped running and was now steadily approaching a cave. A wave of dread washed over her. She grabbed the bars and rattled them futilely. Scruple neared the cave, closer and closer until the darkness engulfed them.

She huddled against the wall as Scruple came to a stop.

"I brought what you asked," he said to someone in the darkness.

"Good..."

Smurfette gasped. No...It couldn't be! He was gone! He couldn't be here!

A match struck the wall, lighting a few candles on the walls of the cave. The twisted, snaggle-toothed wizard smirked at the Smurfette, his mangy _mrow_ ing cat laughing beside him. She tried to scream, but it was caught in her throat.

"So good to see you again, my dear," Gargamel smirked smugly.

The scream in Smurfette's throat finally escaped, and she moved as far back from the evil wizard as she could. She turned away, trying to hide whatever was showing.

"Now, now. Don't be like that," he said in a pitiful attempt to be soothing.

"What do you want, Gargamel?" she snapped, a sliver of bravery showing through.

"I think that is obvious." He snatched the cage from Scruple and set it on a table beside a black cauldron. "I want your smurf friends. And one way or another, you're going to lead me right to them."

"NEVER!" she declared, standing on her cold bare feet. He shook the cage laughing, causing her to tumble.

"Still as persistent as ever. But no matter." He took a key as equally rusted as the lock and twisted it in, creating a painful screech. "I knew ever since that Blue Moon came, you'd be important. And since the Smurfs will want their precious Smurfette back, I see no reason why they wouldn't come after you."

He reached his hand inside, trying to grab her. She scampered as quickly as she could from his grasp, but failed as the back of her dress tugged her back and yanked her aloft.

"What'll you do to me until they get here?" she asked, though immediately regretting it.

"Well, I'm going to do the best I can. Why not extract whatever essence you have left?"

He swung her over to a glass contraption much like the one back in his old castle. She kicked and squirmed, trying to slip from his hold. He threw her in the air and caught her by the waist, his fingers wrapping around her baby bump. He neared the essence extractor when he suddenly stopped. His fingers tightened over her stomach.

"Scruple!" he snapped. "Did you feed her anything?"

The apprentice shook his head. "Does it look like I have any food on me?"

"Then why is her stomach so - "

"I don't know! Maybe she's gotten chubby."

"Or maybe..." Gargamel trailed off. Smurfette shook with fear as the silence dragged on. "No...That's impossible!" He slowly turned to look at her. She grew more terrified by the second as he stared in bewilderment. She nearly fainted in fear when his confused look of shock twisted into a triumphant, evil grin.

"Change of plans!" he announced, throwing Smurfette back into the cage. It was still unlocked, but Gargamel had her in his hand again before she could stand. Scruple was at the table, sculpting a tiny little mound in his hands. He shoved her to Scruple to take over the spell. He began reciting an incantation:

 _"The key is forged from evil's fire  
_ _The key shall be my gate  
_ _I'll come my time, then I'll arise  
To seal your miserable fates"_

She shook her head furiously as she realized what he was doing. The clay ball, no bigger than a snowflake, sat on the table. He held it up to her face. She turned away. Scruple held her down to the table while Azrael forced her mouth open. The clay burned in her mouth as it slid inside. She willed herself not to swallow, but she was gagging. She couldn't breathe! She coughed and gagged until she gave in. The clay lump slid down her throat, burning in her stomach. She cried out as what felt like fire engulf her.

She felt herself thrust back into the cage just as the shock was setting in. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Gargamel's evil smile.

* * *

"Smurfette!" Hefty couldn't remember how many times he called for her. And he couldn't remember being so afraid. " _Smurfette!"_

Smurflily screamed Smurfette's name after Hefty did, hanging from a low tree branch. Tracker and Smurfblossom took the ground somewhere to the south while Smurfstorm and Clumsy took Spitfire. Hefty had insisted on going by himself. It was riskier, but he was convinced that he could handle himself. He trekked through the three-foot high grass, which wasn't an easy task being three apples high.

He called out her name several times, but no answer came. He pushed past the grass so quickly he felt blood trickle down his arm. His pants were tearing, but he pressed on until a shred of white caught his eye. He looked up. One of the tall blades of dry grass was bent a bit with a small white shoe on the end. Smurfette's shoe! She was close.

He turned in the direction of the shoe and dashed in the opposite way to where the wind was blowing in his face. The dry grass scratched his face, but he ignored it. He pressed on and on until he saw blue. Her limp figure lay still on a bed of dry grass.

 _"SMURFETTE!"_

He slid to her side, cradling her. She moaned and slowly opened her eyes. "H-Hefty..."

He hugged her close to him, hushing her. "It's okay. It's okay, I've got you." He turned back to where he came. "I found her! Don't worry, Smurfette. Help is on the wa - "

"Hefty..." her voice was dry and raspy, as if she hadn't had a drink in days. "B-baby..."

He furrowed his brow. "What? What about the baby?"

She took his hand and put it on her stomach. Her stomach was noticeably larger than it had been hours earlier. "B-Baby!"

"Oh my Smurfs!"

* * *

"Say 'ah' for me, Smurfette."

Brainy shone a light down Smurfette's throat as she vocalized, Clumsy holding a popsicle stick on her tongue. It was raspy and painful, causing her to cough. Brainy grimaced.

"Oh, that's not good." He took a Q-tip and stuck it down her throat, taking a sample to study. He set the sample on a slide and put it under the microscope. Clumsy offered her some water, but she refused it. Smurfette kept pulling at Hefty, her eyes full of fear.

"It's okay," Hefty kept saying. "It's okay, Smurfette. Smurf him a minute."

She pulled herself into his chest and sobbed loudly. Hefty looked at Brainy pleadingly. Brainy launched from his seat and pulled his equipment from the closet. Hefty carried Smurfette from the stool to the bed and lifted up her dress. Brainy rubbed the probe on her stomach as she finally accepted the water to clear her throat.

Brainy stared intently at the screen until the silhouette of a tiny smurf appeared.

"No injuries, no deformities, no abnormalities..." A steady heartbeat echoed from the speaker. "Strong heartbeat. Everything is fine."

Smurfette heaved a sigh of relief, but Brainy's face slowly fell. His eyebrows knitted as he maneuvered the probe to the other side of her stomach. A grainy image appeared on the screen and Brainy's eyes widened.

"Holy Mother of Smurfs! What in the smurf is that?!" Any use of hiding his astonishment was either ineffective or nonexistent. Smurfette craned her neck to see the monitor, but she couldn't quite see. Hefty circled the bed to stand next to Brainy. He squinted at the picture before he jumped back in horror, letting out a gasp. Clumsy just stared at the two of them confusedly.

"What is it?" Smurfette asked worriedly, starting to squeeze Clumsy's hand.

Hefty and Brainy glanced at each other, as if neither of them wanted to speak first. She furrowed her brow.

"Tell me!" she ordered. "Tell me! Is my baby okay?"

"Well, Smurfette," Brainy bit his lip. "I don't feel it best to have me explain it, so I'm going to whisper it into Clumsy's ear so he can smurf it out in astonishment."

He started whispering into Clumsy's ear for a minute before Clumsy gasped.

"SMURFETTE'S HAVING TWINS?!"

" _What?!"_

"Well, sort of..." Brainy explained. "I've smurfed an infant-sized mass next to where your baby is, and it is in the shape of a smurf. Do you have any idea how this could have happened?"

It struck her like an ax. She pulled at her hair, trembling. She shook her head in disbelief.

"No..." she whispered.

"What?" Hefty asked.

She kept shaking her head. "It wasn't a dream then..."

"What are you smurfing about?" he asked. "Tell me what happened."

"He's back." She looked into his eyes. "He did this to me."

Clumsy and Brainy glanced at each other with horrified looks. Smurfette began to bawl, throwing herself into Hefty's chest. He was still as a statue, never moving even as Smurfette sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'll go tell Papa Smurf!" Clumsy stumbled out the door leaving the three inside Brainy's hut, at a loss of what to do.


	35. Chapter 35

**This chapter contains heavy material. Discretion is advised to those who havr experienced or witnessed sexual assault. I am not pressing any views onto anyone. Please be mindful of the sensitive content.**

* * *

She ran her hand over her stomach, staring at the ceiling. She was carrying another baby, if she could even call it that. The one she already had was hers, made by her and the love of her life. But, this one was brought out of force, out of evil.

A knock came at her door.

"Smurfette?" Hefty sat down on the bed. "Smurfette?"

She didn't say anything. How could she? She felt so... _violated._ So _filthy._ She was carrying a parasite next to his child!

He grasped her hand. "Smurfette, you don't have to tell me what happened."

"... _I'm sorry, Hefty."_

"What? Sorry for what?"

She turned to face him, her eyes empty from sadness. "I could have fought him harder. I've been able to smurf him down before but...Hefty, I'm carrying a monster right next to our baby. _And I could have stopped him!"_

Hefty clenched his fist, but his main focus was her pain. He pulled her close, letting her cry into his chest.

"Smurfette, this is not your fault!" He held her chin up to look at him. "It doesn't matter what you did or could have done. He did this, not you. You are not to blame for this, he is."

She sniffled. "But, how can you still love me...when I'm smurfing a growing lump of clay?"

He wiped her tears away. "Smurfette, you were a lump of clay once. And I don't love you any less for that. Why should I now?"

"So...you're not angry."

He sighed. "I am angry. But, not at you."

She leaned into his chest. "What do I do with it?"

He rocked her, holding her close. "Papa and Smurfwillow are smurfing with Brainy to figure something out."

She nodded, melting into his embrace. She wanted to believe it wasn't her fault. But she could have fought harder, couldn't she? But, then there was the matter of if she could remove the thing inside her. Would it hurt her, or the baby? And what if she kept it?

She pushed the thoughts from her mind for the moment. For now, she wanted nothing more than to be with the Smurf she loved.

* * *

Papa paced in his hut, waiting for Brainy to arrive. Smurfwillow had arrived mere moments before, but knew comfort was the last on his agenda.

"Poor Smurfette." She put her head in her hand. "And, she was so happy to have that baby."

"Now, now. We still have time. What we need is an explanation, and then a plan."

The door burst open, Brainy dragging in every file, paper, and machine that carried data on Smurfette's pregnancy.

"Ah, Brainy! Not a smurf too soon!"

Brainy set his computer on the table. "I've managed to smurf some images from the ultrasound. It is the same size and shape. But there is no heartbeat."

"Is it feeding off of her?" Smurfwillow asked.

Brainy shook his head. "I can't smurf for sure. Although, by that logic, so is her real baby."

"Brainy," Papa interrupted. "Could this...thing be harmful tp her?"

Brainy pondered for a moment, looking over the charts and making a few calculations. "From what I can gather, she seems fine. Her vitals are regular, her blood pressure and formula is normal. Everything in her seems perfectly healthy."

Papa Smurf stroked his beard. "If Gargamel put this inside her, and knew she was pregnant, then it stands to smurf that he intends for her to smurf this quote-unquote 'child'."

Smurfwillow gripped her staff. "Then it's obviously dangerous!"

Brainy typed on his computer. "If need be, I could be able to extract this foreign object without jeopardizing Smurfette's current pregnancy."

Smurfwillow smiled. Papa furrowed his brow. "Are we sure that's the right way?"

Willow glanced at Papa. "Papa Thing, we don't know what sort of thing this could be."

"She is right, Papa," Brainy agreed. "Once it is born, it could grow to the size of Albania, it could smurf wings and eat the entire village, it could smurf sharp fangs and claws and smurf underground to hunt Smirfs one by one through the toilets!"

Papa and Willow stared at him confusedly. "What?"

Brainy shook his head. "The point is that this thing could kill us all one way or another."

Papa stared at the monitor. The silhouettes of two smurflings, identical in appearance. What was the difference?

"Had we smurfed that about Smurfette, where would we be now?"

Brainy blinked. Smurfwillow stepped between them. "Papa, are you saying she should _keep_ it?"

Papa stood in silence, then nodded.

Brainy fainted, his papers flying everywhere.

"I feel we should give this new life a chance."

Smurfwillow shook her head. "Look, I know this has everything to do with Smurfette and I understand that. But this is different. This is a problem still hardwired with evil intentions."

Papa sighed. "But it's not fair to the smurfling and it certainly isn't fair to Smurfette."

"What is unfair to her is letting her keep it and be reminded every day of what she has witnessed and experienced. She's broken. We have to let her heal."

He gazed back at the image one final time.

"...I'll speak with her and Hefty once we are able to smurf if this is a threat to her."


	36. Chapter 36

Smurfette confined herself to her bedroom for three days. No one except Hefty was allowed in, and soon even Hefty was afraid to approach her. He sat outside on the stoop, not sure what to do next or if anything would make any difference anymore.

"Hefty!" Brainy stumbled up, out of breath. "I sm...smurf of your time."

For once, Hefty readily agreed. "What is it, Brainy?"

"I wish to see Smurfette."

He sighed. "I don't know, Brainy. She's got a lot on her mind."

"Well, does she want to see what I discovered?" Brainy asked.

"About the baby and the...yeah, I think so. And, if she smurfs out, you could get more information, right?"

Brainy shrugged. "Possibly."

"I'll take what I can smurf." He rushed back inside and up the stairs, knocking softly on Smurfette's door. "Smurfette, can I come in?"

He heard her say yes, so he stepped inside. She hadn't moved since he'd woken up that morning. She was still in her nightgown, in fact. He sucked in a nervous breath.

"Smurfette, Brainy is outside."

"What does he want now?"

He sat down beside her. "He wants to see you, to _help_ you. Smurfette, we might be able to fix this. I know I can't understand what you're going through but...maybe learning more about it can help."

She sighed, rolling onto her side. "Can I sleep first?"

Hefty nodded, kissed her, and left the room. Smurfette gripped the sheets. She knew Hefty was trying, but she could feel whatever was inside her growing. It mocked her. She wished she had just stayed inside that day and left well enough alone. But she couldn't change what had happened. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

 _"Hi, Smurfette."_

 _She gasped, whirling around. The Smurf behind her flinched, his face getting whipped by her long hair._

 _"Oh my smurfs! I'm so sorry!"_

 _The Smurf chuckled. "It's okay. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you like that."_

 _She glanced at his attire. Leather jacket, green flannel, a woolen cap. He was dressed almost like Timber, but he looked exactly like Hefty. She stared at him._

 _"What?"_

 _"Sorry. Sorry, it's just...you look exactly like my husband."_

 _To her surprise, he snickered. "I get that a lot."_

 _She furrowed her brow. "What are you - "_

 _He started down the hill. "Wanna walk for a minute?"_

 _She hesitated, but obliged and let him lead her down the hill. She glanced at him a few times. She was sure it was Hefty's face. But, then, why was he dressed like he was camping? She awkwardly cleared her throat._

 _"Excuse me, but who are you?" she asked._

 _"What do you mean?" he asked._

 _She slowed her pace, confused. "I mean, what's your name?"_

 _He shrugged. "I don't have one."_

 _"What?!" she exclaimed._

 _He continued down the hill, leaving her a few paces behind. "Well, not yet anyway."_

 _"Wait!" She ran to catch up with him. "What do you mean you don't have a name? You have to be smurfed something!"_

 _He shook his head. "Nope. I'm nameless, for now."_

 _For now? That made no sense. He sat down in the grass, offering a seat next to him. She knelt down, watching the trees. The wind slipped through her hair, and she relaxed._

 _"I'm sorry for being all mysterious, Smurfette," he said. "But, you know why you're here."_

 _"Because something bad is about to happen," she answered._

 _"No," he said. "Because something challenging is about to happen."_

 _"What?" She turned to face him. "What are you smurfing on about? Who are you and how do you know me? Why are you in my dreams?!"_

 _He sighed. "I'm here to talk about her." He pointed down the hill._

 _She followed the direction of where he was pointing. A small figure with short, tawny blonde hair was kneeling in the flowers, a white cloak over her shoulders. She had met that Smurfette before._

 _"You know her?"_

 _He nodded. "She's my sister."_

 _Smurfette started to stand, but the Smurf grabbed her wrist. "No, don't. She's resting right now."_

 _She sat back down and stared at the figure in the distance. "I don't understand."_

 _"Well, she's scared."_

 _"Of what?"_

 _"Of everything. She fears what will happen if she talks to you, approaches you, tries to hug you..."_

 _"But why would she want that?" Her mind boggled in confusion. "I don't understand! Smurf to me, Smurf! What are you trying to tell me?"_

 _He stared at her with the same gaze Hefty had, but her eyes looked back at her._

 _"I can't influence your choice. But, whatever you decide to do, you can't go back." He stared at the figure at the bottom of the hill. "I know she's my sister, as much as I know that you're my mother."_

* * *

Smurfette gasped, gripping the sheets. Thumping from the stairs grew louder, and the door flew open.

"Smurfette? Are you alright?" Hefty stood in the doorway.

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

"Another nightmare?"

She shook her head. "No...but, I think..."

He took her by the arms and helped her out of bed. "Come on. Let's go to Brainy's. He can help us out."

* * *

She laid on the bed, Brainy probing her stomach. He stared attentively at the screen, searching closely. Hefty stood uncomfortably by his wife while Papa and Smurfwillow insisted that they attend. But Smurfette's mind was focused on her dream. Had she really met her son? But she didn't even know him yet. How could it have been?

Brainy turned the screen so the couple could see. "Your little smurfling seems to be progressing well. Unfortunately, so has the mass."

"What does that mean?" Hefty asked.

"Well..." Brainy dug through his files. "I was able to collect a sample from her womb - "

" _You did what?!"_

"And, it seems as though the spell Gargamel cast on the clay was only half-finished. The rest is being filled with Smurf DNA."

Smurfette pondered. Did that make this _thing_ a real smurf? But, then again, she was also a ball of clay once, and now she is a real smurf.

"So, is it a smurf?" Papa asked.

Brainy shrugged. "Smurfette was a lump of clay once. Is she a Smurf?"

"Brainy!" Hefty snapped.

"Well, whatever it is," Smurfwillow stepped in. "It was made by Gargamel. It can't be good if it's born."

Smurfette sat up. "Wait, what?" Hefty guided her back down, Papa standing uneasily behind Willow. Brainy wheeled over in his chair.

"Smurfette, um...we've been smurfing about some way to remove the mass inside you."

Smurfette was silent. She had been traumatized by what she'd experienced. This thing was tearing her life and village apart. but, then, why did she feel so conflicted about it?

"Now, don't worry. It won't harm the baby. It's a simple spell that'll extract the foreign material and leave the real baby Smurf to grow."

"The _real_ baby smurf?" she asked.

Papa pushed his way forward. "Smurfette, if I may."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Papa Thing, we talked about this."

"About what?" Smurfette demanded. "Why are you guys smurfing behind my back?"

Papa sighed. "Smurfette, when you came to the village, you were set on our destruction. But, we didn't give up on you and look at you now! You've grown into a brave, smart, courageous Smurfette. Shouldn't you smurf that chance to the other baby?"

"How can you call it a baby?" Smurfwillow asked. "It was forced into her!"

Smurfette covered her ears, rolling on her side to avoid the argument. She glanced at the monitor, but caught herself staring at it. She noticed that between the two outlines, their hands were connected. They were holding hands.

Hefty's voice broke through the arguing. "All of you stop it! This is Smurfette's problem, not yours!"

"Hefty," Smurfwillow sighed. "We're all thinking of her and the _village's_ best interests."

Hefty helped Smurfette to her feet, pulling her dress down. "You're upsetting her either way! Come on, hon."

He led her outside. She glanced over her shoulder at the image. Could it be that the little lump of clay inside her was her baby too? She couldn't think about that! She had to think of what was best for everyone. And, that meant she had to get rid of it. She gripped her abdomen, shame growing in her chest.


End file.
